Armed robbery occurs near Palmetto North

The Florida A&M University Police Department received an emergency call at approximately 1:50 p.m. from a victim who was robbed at gunpoint Thursday afternoon near the Palmetto North complex.

The victim’s name and the items stolen have not been released, according to Lt. Angela Kirkland of FAMU PD.

Kirkland responded to the dispatch.

Kirkland said the victim was a FAMU student who lived in Palmetto. It was reported that the robber fled on foot to Palm Beach Street.

“TPD assisted the FAMU Police Department in finding the suspect,” Kirkland said. “Even though the guy was on foot, he can’t be on foot much longer.”

Kirkland also said the robbery was out of the norm because it happened in the daytime.

“There were more people in the daytime. It was just the opportunity that presented itself,” she said.

Eight patrol cars were at the scene. The number of police cars present on Palm Beach Street startled some students.

Alana Lewis, 20, a junior elementary education student from Augusta, Ga., said she was driving down Wahnish Way past Palm Beach Street heading to work when she saw the police cars.

“Anytime it’s that many police cars, it has to be danger involved,” Lewis said. “They wouldn’t need all that back up.”

Lewis said she was concerned by the increased police presence on Palm Beach Street, as she thought it was a more serious incident.

“I was worried because I didn’t know what was going on. I felt that my life was in danger,” Lewis said. “They texted me a little bit after that went on and it explained everything.”

Kirkland said the suspect was reported as a black male about 150 pounds and “wearing a hoodie button down in the fro nt and white stripes on the sleeve of the hoodie.”

Kirkland said the police officers who first received the information about the robbery will pass the information to the next shift.

“We are going to tell the on-going shift,” Kirkland said. “We let the officers know what they are looking for.”

Kirkland said FAMU PD will release more information once it finds a suspect.

“We are hoping that someone saw what went on,” Kirkland said. “We might have the victim look through a photo lineup.”

Kirkland said students can prevent themselves from being robbed by walking in groups.

“This gentleman was walking by himself. Do the buddy system,” Kirkland said. “There is safety in numbers. We advocate that students walk with others.”

Kirkland also said students can take advantage of the emergency blue lights on campus.

“Be aware of your surroundings,” she said. “If you see those emergency blue lights and it’s an emergency then press the emergency buttons.”

Sean Murray, 20, a sophomore biology student from Jacksonville, said people expect bad things to happen on campus, but robberies are normal.

“I think it’s a bad occurrence, but it doesn’t affect where I stay,” Murray said. “It’s not the place, it’s just random people walking around.”