CHICAGO — One Loyola University student was punched in the face while another student was able to flee during two attempted robberies near campus, officials said.
On Saturday, a Loyola student was walking about 8 p.m. in the 6200 block of North Winthrop Avenue and was threatened by an "unknown offender" who flashed a closed knife and demanded money, said Robert Fine, the university's director of campus safety.
The student was able to flee and call police, but no arrests were made, Fine said.
On Thursday, a student was punched in the face and held down by attempted robbers as they tried to steal his phone, Fine said Friday.
The student was walking about 1:30 p.m. Thursday on West Albion Avenue toward North Newgard Avenue while listening to his headphones, Fine said.
At the corner of Albion and Newgard, a man wearing a black hoodie and dark jeans blocked the sidewalk and demanded the student give up his phone, Fine said.
When the student refused, another man who had been riding a bike behind the student grabbed him. The first man punched the student in the left eye and tried to steal the phone. The Loyola student broke free and ran to his apartment, while the robbers each ran in opposite directions, police said.
The man on the "small boy's" bike was wearing a blue hoodie, light-colored jeans and a black face mask, a statement said.
Between mid-January and mid-February, three Loyola students were robbed at gunpoint near campus.
