An armed robbery failed on Saturday night after the mugger got picky about his taste in cellphones.
At 7:30 p.m., the male suspect followed a Columbia student into his brownstone residence on 114th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam, drew a gun, and demanded an iPhone, according to a security update from Columbia’s Director of Investigations Ken Finnegan. The resident gave up his phone, but after being told it wasn’t an iPhone, the suspect returned it.
A second resident entered the brownstone and, after being threatened by the suspect, handed over his phone. The suspect returned it after discovering that it wasn’t an iPhone either. He then fled on foot toward Amsterdam Avenue.
The brownstones on 113th, 114th, and 115th streets are the only residence halls without security guards stationed in the lobby to swipe residents in.
The incident is the latest in a string of thefts involving technology on the block this semester. In September, several laptops were stolen from the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and Kappa Alpha Theta sorority brownstones, and three suspects were later apprehended. Last month, two students fled after being threatened with a box cutter by two suspects, also demanding an iPhone.
Ugne Klibaite, SEAS ’13, and Dylan Lonergan, CC ’13, who live in the brownstone formerly occupied by Pi Kappa Alpha, said that the series of incidents was scary but that Public Safety maintains a visible presence on the street. An officer “walks down the street” often, Klibaite said.
Still, Lonergan questioned why the officer didn’t find the suspect loitering on the steps of the brownstone suspicious.
“I’m not sure how their presence goes unnoticed,” Lonergan said.
Vincent Nasri, SEAS ’13, who lives in the nearby Broadway residence hall, said that students should be more careful.
“They just shouldn’t allow people in,” he said. “They should know who lives in their brownstone.”
The suspect isn’t the only one attached to Apple’s signature smartphone.
“If anyone came for my iPhone with a gun, I might get hurt because I might not give it up,” Klibaite said.
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