Photo courtesy of Ashley Prast
Four juveniles who had attempted to steal a cell phone from a student near the University Center were arrested by Seton Hall Public Safety and the South Orange Police Department on Tuesday Sept. 23.
Three of the suspects were taken into custody on the Galleon Lawn while the fourth fled the scene and was apprehended in the Xavier Hall parking lot shortly thereafter. Patrick Linfante, assistant vice president for Public Safety and Security, said he was satisfied with his department’s response to the incident.
“I am pleased with the actions of our department, Public Safety, and certainly of the South Orange Police,” Linfante said. “They were great, they were here almost immediately.”
The four would-be robbers approached the student at approximately 8:20 p.m. and demanded his cell phone. The student refused and proceeded to the University Center, using an emergency phone to dial 911.
A student reported seeing the four suspects at the men’s soccer game prior to the robbery attempt.
An email with the subject “ATTEMPTED ROBBERY ON-CAMPUS THWARTED” was sent to students at 9:28 p.m. that night.
Linfante said students were not sent a text message Pirate Alert because the situation had been resolved.
“A Pirate Alert is necessary when there is an ongoing, continuing threat to the community. In this case, all four of the assailants were apprehended and there was no longer a threat to the community.”
Clayton Collier can be reached at clayton.collier@student.shu.edu.
