UT Police say robbery suspects stole student's shorts, phone, ID

AUSTIN, Texas - A little after three a.m. Wednesday morning near Carothers Residence Hall on the north end of the UT campus, a student was flagged down by someone he apparently didn't know, according to UTPD.

"When he wasn't looking they hit him over the head, they demanded property, and he told them he basically didn't have a wallet so they said 'just give me your clothing.' They took his property that way," Sgt. Robert Land said.

According to a UT Police Department bulletin, it was the student's shorts that were stolen. A third person hit him in the head with a gun.

"Because he had his ID and his phone taken, he went to the front desk of the dorm and the R.A. on duty hit the panic button to notify us," he said. 

UT police say the student described the suspects as three Hispanic men who left in a white truck.

"We don't really have a good suspect description to put out yet. That's one of the things that we're prioritizing to try to get to our law enforcement area partners," Land said.

"It's kind of scary, I'm not going to lie. But at the same time, I honestly personally feel like UTPD does a pretty good job of...alerting us," said UT senior Bryce Kornblau. 

We asked students, like Kornblau, about the odd nature of the robbery.

"I think it was probably somebody off-campus because I don't know, I feel like if students were going to do something like that they wouldn't do it so stupidly. That just seems like a lot of attention," Kornblau said.  

Something students can keep in mind for late-night walks is the availability of rides for students.

"Parking/transportation offers rides to students, there's a whole lot of different programs that will not only offer students rides but offer somebody to walk with you," Land said.

Sophomore Sarah Foster says she's never felt unsafe at UT but she does take precautions.

"I normally walk around with other people, like I don't go somewhere if I don't have at least one other person. Normally I like to do bigger groups. I don't know, I'll normally carry around pepper spray or something. No headphones, just being aware and alert," Foster said.  

Sgt. Land says they're stepping up patrols in the area and they're on-watch just in case the same suspects try to strike again.  

If you know who these suspects are or if you've seen them or seen anything suspicious, UT police say call 911 immediately.