UPDATE: Robbery on Kent State Campus Under Investigation

Two students were robbed at gunpoint Saturday on campus near a closed former residence hall.

Kent State University Police reported the robbery took place at 11:35 p.m. Saturday in the Harbourt Hall parking lot. The victims told police the suspects were two black males. The students were not injured and the suspects fled the scene.

The robbery comes less then two weeks after . Students there told police items were stolen from their dorm rooms Jan. 25 after the doors were left ajar. Unlike Wright Hall, Harbourt Hall — which is near the Kent State University Ice Arena — is currently closed as the university prepares to renovate the building into administrative office space.

"There is no reason to believe the two incidents are related at this point," Michquel Penn, community resources officer at Kent State police, said in an e-mail.

According to Kent State police, the first suspect in Saturday's robbery is described as approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall with a dark complexion and no facial hair or jewelry. He was wearing a plain black knit cap, black pants or jeans and an Army green coat with buttons. The second suspect is approximately 5 feet 6 inches, had a scruffy goatee and wore a black hoodie or jacket, jeans or dark pants and a black or dark green beanie cap.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact the Kent State University police department at 330-672-3070.

After the burglaries at Wright Hall, university officials reminded students to be alert and take precautions to try and prevent crime. The university repeated that message in an e-mail sent to students and staff Sunday morning advising them of the robbery Saturday night.

"The safety of our faculty, staff, students and visitors is our first priority at Kent State University," the e-mail states. "University police will continue to have a patrol presence in the area. Cooperation and engagement of all students, faculty and staff in our campus safety program is our best defense against crime."

Aside from encouraging the use of security aides as campus escorts, which are available by dialing 2-7004 on a campus phone, the university offered these tips for faculty and staff:

• Find safety in numbers, practice walking with a companion or in groups at night

• Keep the doors of residences, offices and automobiles locked

• Mark your valuables with a personal identification number in case of loss or theft

• Have your keys ready when walking across parking lots and watch for any suspicious person or activities

• Never leave your keys unattended in the car ignition

• Lock all valuables such as mobile devices, laptops, cameras, book bags, briefcases and textbooks in the trunk