The Syracuse University Department of Public Safety is looking to improve off-campus security in the wake of an armed robbery Wednesday night.

DPS will be distributing a door hanger to off-campus houses to help improve safety awareness.

The door hanger features two separate sections, one titled “SAFETY CHECK” and the other, “STAY ALERT!” The safety check section suggests students make their home look occupied, do not hide spare keys outside and do not open the door for someone who claims to be a maintenance or utility worker until after service is confirmed with a landlord, among other suggestions.

The stay alert section describes what suspicious activity is and provides contact information for DPS and SPD. The door hangers also encourage students to use the LiveSafe app, which DPS announced a partnership with over the summer.

Three SU students reported being robbed at gunpoint at their home on the 200 block of Ostrom Avenue late Wednesday night. The students reported around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday that while they were in their off-campus apartment, they heard a knock at their front door. When they opened the door, two men wearing surgical masks pushed their way into the apartment, according to DPS.

The men had handguns and knives, according to DPS, and demanded the students’ car keys, wallets and cellphones. The suspects left the students’ apartment with one of the student’s vehicles, a Porsche SUV. The Syracuse Police Department recovered the proceeds, or belongings that were taken, of the robbery in the parking lot of 201 Seeley Road shortly after, according to an SPD release. No injuries were reported and the investigation is ongoing.

“A lot of the crime that happens on our campus is opportunity based,” said Nikki Cooter, the manager of administration and Clery compliance for DPS, in a recent interview.

Outside of the door hangers, DPS will be participating in partnership with “Cuse Stay Safe” for a demonstration later this month, said Hannah Warren, DPS’s public information officer, in an email.

The installation, organized by a group of three School of Architecture students, will happen on Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. on Comstock and Euclid avenues with the possibility of a second night of the installation on Oct. 21, the three students said in an email.

The students, Estefania Maldonado, Taylor Johnson and Brooke Shea, said they’ve gathered about 4,000 glowsticks, which will light up parts of the two streets near the SU campus.

The goal of the installation, they said, is “to light up these under lit areas and raise awareness on crime prevention for students on campus.” The glowsticks will be placed on Euclid between Ackerman and Lancaster avenues and Comstock between East Adams and Marshall streets.

The Wednesday night armed robbery was the first armed robbery reported by DPS since Sept. 10, 2014, when an SU student reported being robbed at gunpoint on the 100 block of Comstock Avenue.

Published on October 11, 2015 at 6:45 pm

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306