MANHATTAN — Three men forced their way into a Columbia University-owned apartment Monday night, stealing cash and a cellphone from one of the tenants before assaulting his roommate when he came home mid-robbery, a police spokesman said.
The suspects, seen on surveillance video wearing grey hoodies and overcoats, knocked on an apartment door on West 111th Street, near Broadway about 11 p.m., and when one of the men who lived there answered the door, they pushed their way into the apartment, the NYPD said.
The robbers asked the 29-year-old tenant where his money was and stole an undetermined amount of cash along with a cellphone before heading for the door, police said.
As they did, a second roommate, 27, came home, police said. The robbers bludgeoned him with a blunt object — which may have been the butt of a gun, police said.
That roommate was taken to St. Luke's Hospital, treated and released, the NYPD spokesman said.
Sources said one of the victims is believed to be a graduate of Columbia University.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).
