NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ–City police are investigating an armed robbery on the streets of New Brunswick on April 15, but it was Rutgers University’s Police Department that made the public aware of the crime just over an hour after it happened.

“In this incident the victim… reported that he was walking on Handy Street when a small, dark colored SUV stopped across from him,” reads the RUPD crime alert, which noted the incident took place at about 12:30am between Jones and Commercial Avenues.

“A passenger exited the vehicle, displayed a handgun and demanded money from the victim. The perpetrator then took the victim’s cell phone and got back into the SUV which drove away in the direction of Commercial Avenue.”

Because the victim was affiliated with the university, and the incident happened near one of their campuses, the school’s police issued a campuswide crime alert even though NBPD is investigating the case.

It was the first RUPD crime alert since February 27.  As we previously reported, the university has not kept its promise to issue alerts for “all serious crimes” in the Fifth and Sixth Wards of the city.

This incident, however, took place in the Second Ward, in between Feaster Park and the eastern edge of the picturesque Cook/Douglass campus.

While RUPD said “the description of the perpetrator and vehicle is limited at this time,” New Brunswick Police Department (NBPD) provided more details in response to an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request from this newspaper.

“The victim indicated that the suspect wore a dark hat and brown jacket,” said NBPD Captain JT Miller, who also referred to the suspect as “an African American male.”

“No injuries were sustained as a result of the confrontation,” Miller said.

RUPD explained that the NBPD is “actively investigating this incident” and asks anyone with information to contact the NBPD’s Detective Bureau at 732-745-5217.

Editor at New Brunswick Today | 732-993-9697 | editor@newbrunswicktoday.com | Website

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.