Third Armed Robbery near Boston-Brookline Border in Two Weeks

Last night, about 5 p.m., Brookline Police report a third armed robbery near the Boston-Brookline border, again involving a member of the Boston University community.  

Brookline Police say that the recent college graduate is unharmed, but was shown a gun by three teenaged black males, who then fled the scene toward Commonwealth Avenue. 

BUPD Lieutenant Taso Giannopoulos told BU Today that the victim walked a block and found his cruiser. He went on, “I put in the call and literally within a minute there were about a dozen cruisers there from Brookline and BUPD.”

BUPD say that, if you see the suspects, do not approach them. Instead, notify the Brookline Police Department at 617-730-2222 or BUPD at 617-353-2121.

See BU Today for the full story.

This makes the third such crime since Sept. 23, just two weeks ago. In the first such incident, two teenaged males robbed . 

In the second incident, two days later, three black male with stolen property toward Pleasant Street and Commonwealth Avenue. The suspects were seen putting their sweatshirts into a backpack. 

Following a handful of smartphone thefts in May of this year, the Brookline Police Department issued a press release containing a number of safety tips, including: 

• Do not wear earbuds, headphones, or listen to music while walking alone.
• Always walk with a friend or in a group when possible.
• Be aware of your surroundings at all times and trust your instincts.
• Walk with confidence on the street and at a good, steady pace. Keep your head up and observe your surroundings.  Don't look down at the ground.
• If you feel you are being followed, show you are suspicious – Turn to look at the person. This sends a clear message that you will not be taken by surprise.
• Change directions.  If someone is following you on foot, cross the street and vary your pace. If the person following you is in a car, turn and walk in the opposite direction.
• If approached, DO NOT RESIST. The best course of action is to hand over money and whatever other belongings are demanded and try to disengage from this confrontational and potentially dangerous situation as soon as possible. Remember, things can always be replaced.
• Try to remember descriptive information about the robber (height, age, race, etc.) to relay to police when reporting the incident.

Many smartphones include features or have apps which will allow for tracking of stolen phones. the Brookline Police press release does not mention these apps specifically, however an iPhone user with such an app helped police track down and recover her phone earlier in the year. 

This is a breaking story, Patch will have more information as it develops.