2 Tech Students Targeted for Attempted Robberies

Georgia Tech issued a safety alert Saturday after two students were assaulted with a deadly weapon in two attempted robberies early that morning.

Police believe the same suspect is responsible for both attacks on Oct. 15. The students were not injured and no property was stolen, Tech said in the alert.

The first incident occurred around 12:55 a.m. in the Home Park neighborhood, according to the alert. A male student told police he was walking north on Hemphill Avenue near Rosalyn Street when a man pulled out a silver handgun and demanded the student's property. The suspect briefly chased the student when he fled to a nearby McDonald's.

The second incident occurred around 1:15 a.m. on the institute's campus, according to the alert. A male student told police he was walking near Ferst Drive and State Street when the suspect pulled out a silver handgun and demanded his property. The student told his assailant that he had nothing to steal. The suspect fled on foot westbound on Ferst Drive.

The names of the students were not released.

Police describe the suspect as a dark-skinned man who is about 5-feet, 8-inches tall and between 160 to 180 pounds. He has dark-colored, shoulder-length dreadlocks with light-colored tips, police said. He was last seen wearing a dark-colored collared shirt with light-colored stripes and dark-colored pants.

"It is fortunate that in both situations, the students were not harmed and were able to provide a description of the suspect, who had striking similarities in both incidents," Georgia Tech spokesman Matt Nagel said in a prepared statement. 

"The Georgia Tech Police Department will continue to partner with the Atlanta Police Department and other law enforcement agencies on this investigation and to raise awareness and identify ways to enhance safety initiatives."

Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to call Georgia Tech police at 404-894-2500.