HUPD Seeks Robbery Suspects

Two assaults in Cambridge Tuesday night have been linked to the same group that committed four armed robberies the same night, Cambridge police said yesterday.

A multi-jurisdiction search continued yesterday for the four teenagers suspected in the series of crimes.

At the intersection of Broadway and Dana Sts. Tuesday night, a Cantabrigian was elbowed in the jaw and knocked to ground by members of the group, police said.

Moments later, near Ellery St., a woman was grabbed and shaken. No words were exchanged in the incident, and nothing was taken.

In addition to the two assaults, the group committed four robberies, including two involving Harvard undergraduates, according to Cambridge police.

The work of piecing all six incidents together continued yesterday, as Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) detectives worked with Cambridge detectives and members of the Cambridge Police Department's crime analysis unit.

Detectives have spoken with the victims and are trying to set up a photo array of possible robbers, McNamara said.

After speaking with the victims, HUPD amended its description of those wanted in the crime. Police are now describing the robbers as four black males, aged 17-20. Three were around 5'8" tall and wore black puffy jackets, including the robber who brandished the handgun during the incidents.

The fourth perpetrator, who was around 6'2" tall and weighed roughly 210 pounds, wore a red puffy jacket.

One of the robbers covered his face with a ski mask, and all four had their collars turned up, officers said.

Capt. Linda M. McCaul, who oversees HUPD's patrols, would not comment on any specific changes to patrols in light of Tuesday night's robberies.

"We're always evaluating where we need people," she said.

Police said they are not sure whether to expect the group to commit more crimes.

"We don't know if this was a random act, or something this group will plan to pursue," McNamara said.

River House administrators and University officials advised students to take safety precautions in the wake of the incidents.

"It is impossible, in an urban environment such as ours, to make ourselves invulnerable, but we can become better informed about the risks with which we must live," wrote Eugene C. McAfee, Lowell House's Allston Burr Senior Tutor.

"Since the geography [of the robberies] is so spread out, it's impossible to say 'avoid this one area,' " McNamara said.

Instead McNamara and HUPD's newly appointed crime prevention specialist Steven G. Catalano have drawn up a community advisory and safety precautions for students.

"As always, please be aware of your surroundings, and familiarize yourself, with the location of the nearest emergency call boxes (blue light phones)," the advisory reads.

"When possible, walk in groups along well-lit, heavily traveled areas," McNamara added.

McAfee also asked students to carry safety whistles. Students should never display valuables such as cell phones in public, he added.

Leverett House Master Howard Georgi sent an e-mail message to students in the hours after the assault warning them of the incidents, and said he plans to follow up with some House meetings to discuss safety.

"It doesn't hurt to be vigilant," said Georgi.

"There were certainly some people concerned about [the robberies], especially in light of all the discussions we've been having about universal access," Georgi said.

But he said he doesn't see how ending universal access would prevent robberies like Tuesday's.

"I don't really see any policy shifts," Georgi said. "I would be surprised [if anything changed]."