University police are investigating the robbery of a UCLA student near the corner of Strathmore and Landfair avenues late Wednesday night.
At about 11:15 p.m., the student was walking home along Strathmore Avenue from studying on campus. Three men who seemed to be loitering nearby approached her and told her to hand over her stuff, she said.
“I was very skeptical at first, I didn’t want to believe (I was being robbed),” the student said. “I thought maybe they were joking.”
Then one of the men grabbed the student’s iPod from her hand while the other two unsuccessfully tried to grab her gym bag, which contained her computer and money. When the student pulled away and yelled, the men immediately fled northbound on Landfair Avenue, she said.
No one was injured in the incident, according to a report released Thursday by UCPD.
The student said she resisted the men’s attempts to take her bag because she felt they were not experienced and were not threatening.
“It might have been risky to retaliate,” she said. “It was an automatic reaction.”
Although university police recommend students comply with robbers’ requests when confronted, different situations can call for different types of reactions, said UCPD spokeswoman Nancy Greenstein.
The man that took the iPod is described in the report as black and 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and blue pants at the time of the incident.
Police also recommend students avoid walking alone at night and stay aware of their surroundings.
Anyone with information about the robbery can call UCPD at 310-825-1491.
Compiled by Erin Donnelly, Daily Bruin senior staff.