On Wednesday, Oct. 12, there was a “strong-armed robbery” outside of Rowan’s Barnes & Noble bookstore in which a backpack and cell phone were stolen. 

“Rowan Alert: Public Safety received a report of a strong-armed robbery OFF CAMPUS by Barnes/Nobles that occurred on 10/12/22 @11:15pm. 3 males approached a student wearing ski masks, no weapon displayed, males forced the student to give up belongings and fled the location in a brown/gold vehicle,” the Rowan Alert read early Thursday morning at 12:04 a.m.

A strong-armed robbery implies that no weapons were used in the offense, but that bodily force has or could have caused harm or injury.

The Rowan Alert email also suggested that students “always walk in groups” for their safety. The email reminds readers that the Code Blue phones are throughout the campus and provide immediate access to Public Safety Dispatch 24/7.

Code Blue phones have become extremely popular on college and university campuses to ensure 24-hour access to emergency contacts. The blue lights make them easily detectable at night.

Two students believe they allegedly witnessed the robbery and didn’t realize it until after reading the emails sent out by Rowan Alert. 

“We [my girlfriend and I] were heading back home to Union Street from Chickie’s & Pete’s and noticed the car parked outside of Barnes & Noble. I wasn’t suspicious at first. My girlfriend was,” said Mason Crance, a senior at Rowan. “She later pointed out that that’s the car that was labeled in the report and we noticed one of the kids near the cars was wearing a ski mask. We had no interaction or confrontation after with any victims or possible suspects.”

Jordan Perkins, Crance’s girlfriend, was suspicious when they were heading to Chickie’s and Pete’s on Wednesday night around 10:45 p.m. They were standing in line outside of the restaurant. 

“I unknowingly witnessed the people who committed the robbery… I actually said out loud to myself and my boyfriend, ‘Why are these men wearing ski masks? That’s kind of odd, especially with how warm it is,’” said Perkins. 

Perkins states that neither she nor her boyfriend had one-on-one contact with the three males. 

“I did notice one of the men trying to get to the front of the line at Chickie’s with the ski mask up and the other two men were standing at the end of the railing where Chickie’s property ends. The one man by the line was waving down his friends… I then went inside the building and about 1.5 hours later, I got the notification about the robbery where they detailed exactly the men I saw,“ said Perkins. 

Glassboro Police declined to provide documentation or comment, although the robbery can be found within the Rowan University Crime Log.

This is currently an open investigation and Glassboro PD urges anyone who thinks they might have caught a glimpse of the suspects to contact them via cell phone number, (856)- 881-1500 or via the anonymous tip line. Contact the anonymous tip line by texting “GLASSPD” and your tip to 847411.

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