A male graduate student walking on Memorial Drive near Akron Street was the victim of an armed robbery at approximately 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, according to a community advisory report issued yesterday by the Harvard University Police Department.
The victim alleged that a man riding a bicycle stopped him on the street, demanding all of his money while flashing a handgun.
The student said that he handed over all of his money, and the robber fled the area. The victim was unharmed during the incident, according to the advisory report.
Because the crime occurred along the Charles River and not on Harvard’s campus, it is under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police. HUPD will collaborate with the state police if asked, according to HUPD spokesman Steven G. Catalano.
To avoid being the victim of armed robbery, students should avoid walking at night and instead make use of Harvard’s shuttle bus and evening van service, Catalano wrote in an e-mailed statement.
“If students insist on walking they should walk in groups and along well-lit and well-traveled routes (designated pathways),” Catalano wrote. “In addition, when walking students should pay attention to their surroundings and not be distracted by listening to music or talking on cell phones.”
Last month, the Cambridge Police Department issued a report that stated that crime in the city is at a 40-year low.
Violent crime in Cambridge has dropped 58 percent since its peak in 1990, with only 449 incidents reported in 2009, the second lowest number in four decades, according to the report.
—Staff writer Sofia E. Groopman can be reached at segroopm@fas.harvard.edu.
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