Two GW students were robbed at gunpoint early Wednesday morning as they were returning home from Club Daedalus, a nightclub on Vermont and K streets. Metropolitan Police is investigating the incident.
At about 2:30 a.m. at 17th and K streets, an individual approached the two students from behind and threatened them with a gun. The assailant then struck sophomore Zach Gore in the head with the butt of the weapon.
” He yelled, ‘Give me your wallet’ several times before I told him to take whatever he wanted,” Gore said. “He then put his hand in my pocket and took my wallet.”
The assailant then turned the gun on Gore’s companion, sophomore Kim Simon, and demanded her bag.
“I wasn’t trying to make a move or anything. I didn’t want to try to knock the gun out of his hand,” Gore said. “I just wanted to make sure no one got hurt.”
The man, who Gore described as a black male wearing dark clothing, snatched the bag off Simon’s shoulders and ran away.
Simon said the assailant seemed nervous and amateur, noting that he was shaking his gun.
“I didn’t realize what was happening. I never thought something like that could ever have happened to me,” she said.
The number of off-campus robberies has increased in the past few years, according to University Police Department records. There were nine off-campus robberies in 2001, up from seven in 2000 and four in 1999. Eight off-campus robberies have been reported to UPD so far in 2002.
UPD advises students to always travel with someone when walking in the city, particularly at night, on the UPD Web site.
Although personal safety in D.C. is a concern, many students still venture out late at night.
Despite the incident, Gore said he is not deterred from District nightlife.
“It’s not preventing me from going out, but I’m scared to walk alone at night,” Gore said.
Simon said she will take a taxicab in similar circumstances in the future.
Other students do not share this feeling of security.
“I definitely wouldn’t go out alone at dark,” freshman Eliza Bachelder said. “Going from place to place on campus is fine, but I wouldn’t go for a long walk by myself.”
Others said the nature of the area should discourage students from walking alone at night.
“It’s a fact of life, I guess,” senior Mike Sheils said. “I feel safe, but D.C., especially on campus, is too non-residential. Nobody’s out at night, so if someone’s walking alone, it’s unsafe.”
Most said they feel safe on campus.
“I’ve never felt threatened on campus, but if I were to go anywhere else, I’d make sure that I’d be in a large group,” said freshman Sarah Kofke-Egger.
