Two CSUN students were robbed last Wednesday while walking from campus to their cars. The area surrounding CSUN also saw an increase in crimes last week.

The robberies were separate incidents with striking similarities. Both victims were white females and were approached by two suspects just after noon. The suspects demanded their property while presenting a handgun.

Both suspects were identified as Latino males. The first suspect was 5’5″, 175 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes,  about 25 years old. The second was described as 5’7″, 160 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes, about 25 to 30 years old.

“Make sure students watch out for each other, be aware of your surroundings,” said Jason White, senior crime analyst for the the Devonshire division of the LAPD.

Although the crimes happened 20 minutes apart and are similar the police didn’t confirm that the robberies were linked, and are still investigating.

One of the victims was robbed on the corner of Prairie Street and Zelzah Avenue, and another took place at Vanalden Avenue and Lassen Street.

“This wasn’t a night time thing, this happened during the day,” White said.

He explained that the increase in crime in the area could have something to do with the holidays coming up and the fact that many people are out of work.

The CSUN police department published the crimes yesterday in their crime bulletin. This issue was not on school grounds and therefore not a CSUNPD case, but officers on campus are aware of the crimes, said Christina Villalobos, CSUN public information officer.

“Crimes that occur off campus do not effect our statistics because they occurred outside of our jurisdiction,” Villalobos said. “We want people to know and be alert.”