Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The Mississippi State University Police Department and Dean of Students Office are seeking the public's assistance in apprehending the suspect in a strong-arm robbery on campus early Tuesday morning [April 5].
MSU officials said the incident occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. in the lower level parking lot of McKee Residence Hall, which houses freshman women.
Dean of Students Mike White said a McKee resident was exiting her vehicle when she was suddenly approached by the suspect, who twice demanded her vehicle keys before grabbing her purse. A struggle between the two ensued, ending when the assailant managed to wrest away the purse and run from the area into woods that border the parking lot's eastern edge, he added.
White said the student went immediately to the residence hall and notified facility administrators, who then telephoned the police department.
The suspect is described as a slender African-American male, standing approximately five-feet-eight-inches tall and weighing around 150 pounds. White said the suspect was said to be attired in baggy, all-black clothing that included black head netting.
The female student suffered abrasions but no serious injuries. She was treated at Oktibbeha County Hospital and released.
"This is the first such incident of its kind on campus in quite a while," White said. "To make certain it isn't repeated, we are working with the Office of Housing and Residence Life and other Division of Student Affairs units to notify the rest of campus."
White said MSU police officers will be on a heightened alert status, particularly as they patrol campus residence and facilities parking areas.
"We also again are reminding all students, and particularly females, that the police department offers a nightly escort service from buildings to vehicles and vice versa," the veteran MSU administrator said. "To request an escort, one need only call 325-2121; it's as simple as that."
Persons with any information to help solve the April 5 McKee lot robbery should immediately contact Det. James Roby of the MSU Police Department at (662) 325-2121 or the Dean of Students Office at 325-3611.