Two University of Tampa students were involved in an armed robbery Saturday on North Boulevard, three months after the murder of UT student Ryan McCall. The Tampa Police Department (TPD) is investigating a possible link between the two incidents.

According to the TPD incident report, at approximately 2:25 a.m. on Nov. 7 a male UT student and his friend were walking back to UT southbound on North Boulevard at the intersection of Main Street when a black male approached them.

He asked the students if they wanted to buy drugs. When they refused, the suspect pulled out a black semi-auto pistol and said, “Give me what you got.”

He then stole the belongings of one student and fled through the North Boulevard Homes. Neither of the students sustained injuries.

The two students were walking back to campus from an off-campus party according to Kevin Howell, assistant director of UT Campus Safety and Security.

After they were robbed, they headed to Straz Hall and notified UT security there. TPD was called and the investigation began.

The suspect is a black male between the ages of 18-20, around 5 feet 8 inches and 160 pounds. He was wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap and a New York Yankees jacket.

According to Tampa Police Spokesperson Laura McElroy, the homicide detectives have met about the recent incidents and are researching the possible connection between this incident and the death of Ryan McCall.

McCall, a UT senior, was shot to death at the intersection of North Boulevard and Palm Avenue while walking home with a friend from the Retreat Bar on Aug. 19.

An unknown black male had approached the two with a gun, demanding money. After McCall and his friend gave what they had, the two turned to run and McCall was shot.

“It doesn’t appear to be [connected] at this point,” McElroy said. “But we are not ruling it out.”

Howell believes any information is helpful.

“Anytime you get something in the same area, you can narrow down your suspects to a several dozen,” he said. “If the victim can identify the same suspect, that’s when we can make some links.

For now, we can’t link this incident to the Ryan McCall one, but it’s a process of elimination.”

SAFETY AND SECURITY

On Sunday, Nov. 8 at approximately 1:35 p.m. a safety alert was sent as a global message to UT students.

According to the UT description, the Nov. 7 incident occurred at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday and involved two suspects on the north side of the Eugene Holtsinger (North Boulevard) bridge.

“There were two suspects,” said Howell. “The TPD report only says one because they both matched the same description. For now, it looks like at least one of them had a pistol.”

As for the location discrepancy, Howell reported to have missed the typo in the original alert sent.
He said the time difference could be “a result of human error.”

Also included in the safety alert was information of another robbery that had occurred over the weekend, involving a UT female student walking back alone from Metro Mart at approximately 12:35 a.m. at the intersection of North and Kennedy Boulevards.

However, “just based on the suspects’ descriptions, there doesn’t seem to be a link between the first incident and the second,” said Howell.

A black male with dreadlocks struck the girl in the face and stole her debit card, which she had placed in an old pack of cigarettes.

It was unclear which corner the girl was on when she was attacked, though according to Howell, everything points to that she was located at one of the off-campus corners.

Had she been on the North East corner, she would have been on university property.

A male UT student approached a few resident assistants and reported he saw a girl walking on campus that appeared to have been mugged.

They found her and took her immediately to security. Between the three aforementioned incidents occurring so close to campus and the safety alert mistakes, some are questioning if UT is doing enough to protect and maintain awareness of its students.

Shaun Huffman, the Residence Hall Association president, feels that UT should continue to notify the students, but with the correct information.

“From a student perspective, it makes us wonder if they are doing their jobs properly,” he said.

“It’s definitely not the first time UT Security has given out wrong information to the students.
When these things happen, the students feel less secure and there’s a lack of trust in the information that security provides.”

Huffman thinks the safety tips included in the alert were very important, but that instead of just stating facts, they could have also put in tips on how to protect oneself in particular situations.

“This was an armed robbery. They could have told the students what to do if they are ever in that situation,” he said. “I mean, they can do this without giving facts about situations too.”

Joe Rinalli, a childhood friend and former roommate of McCall, is upset with UT and feels that the students aren’t the only ones to blame.

“Our school needs to bring more light to the situation and take more responsibility,” he said. “Invest more money on the safety of the students.” He suggests possibly expanding the LASER team service.

LASER Team (Law Abiding Students Ever Ready), the university’s safety escort service, runs every night during the fall and spring semesters.

Kelsie Huth, Student Government president, said the fastest way to get the information to the students is through a global e-mail alert, such as the one sent out on Sunday.

She believes that no one can be blamed for the incidents occurring.

According to Huth, campus safety does not seem to be as much of an issue as off-campus safety.
UT did not open the new parking lot until the cameras, lights and emergency phone were installed, she said.

“I’ve heard no complaints on campus,” Huffman said. “I know they are in the process of installing more blue-light telephones and just having more lights in general around campus. LASER Team also helps the students feel safer.”

HOW TO STAY SAFE OFF-CAMPUS

Since McCall’s death, Rinalli and his roommates work around each other’s schedule to make sure that everyone gets a ride back and forth to their house. They also don’t walk at night.

He adds, “Three dollars is a lot better than losing your life.”

Huffman said students should not walk to places but instead, “take taxi or find some form of transportation.” He urges students to know the surrounding areas, on and off campus. “I feel that UT should present more safety awareness to incoming freshman because they aren’t as familiar with the area,” he said.

Student Government is looking into ways to help increase student safety both on and off campus.

Huth suggests that students go in groups. “They need to be aware of their surroundings; friends need to look out for friends,” she said. “Everybody needs to look out for everybody.”

Bob Ruday, Dean of Students, feels UT should warn the campus community. He said the university can help the situation by educating students that they are in an urban campus.

“I further encourage students to not travel alone or in small numbers late at night off campus,” he said.

Howell did present, however, that “there really isn’t a perfectly safe time to go anywhere.”

“Short of putting up a fence all the way around UT, we can’t control anything,” said Howell. “And even that wouldn’t stop everything.”

The global e-mail that went out on Sunday included tips on how to increase personal safety.
Howell said there is a higher likelihood of safety incidents involving one of our students when they travel in these neighborhoods.
“Criminals are opportunists,” said Andrea Davis, a TPD spokesperson. “Students are easy targets.”

As both investigations continue, any information on these or other incidents are helpful. Contact CSecurity@ut.edu or SilentWitness@ut.edu to report.

Charlie Hambos and Sarah Gottlieb also contributed to this report.