Attacker Attempts to Rob KSG Student

A male Kennedy School of Government (KSG) student was the victim of an attempted robbery last Friday night.

The KSG student was walking on Memorial Drive near Plympton Street at approximately 9:45 p.m. when he was grabbed from behind by the attacker, according to a police community advisory released yesterday by the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD). The attacker, who wielded a knife, demanded money from the victim.

“The victim informed the suspect that he did not have any money and offered his watch instead,” according to the community advisory. But the attacker did not take the watch and instead fled the area.

“Suspects almost always flee the area to avoid apprehension,” HUPD spokesman Steven G. Catalano wrote in an e-mail statement.

Immediately afterward, the victim went into the KSG to contact the police, but the suspect could not be found.

The victim was only able to provide a “very vague description” of the attacker, Catalano wrote.

The victim, who was not identified pursuant to HUPD policy, was uninjured, Catalano said.

Friday’s attack marks the latest in a spate of robberies and attempted robberies that have plagued Harvard Square in recent months.

On Jan. 13, an undergraduate student was robbed and assaulted at knifepoint in front Widener Gate in broad daylight.

Two days later, the same suspects were caught when they attempted to rob another undergraduate, this time using an umbrella as a weapon, also in broad daylight in Harvard Yard.

And last week, several students reported items missing and an individual was arrested for trespassing and assault and battery of a police officer at the Malkin Athletic Center, although it is not known whether the two incidents were related.

—Staff writer Anna L. Tong can be reached at tong@fas.harvard.edu.