A group of robbers ambushed and mugged several students at gunpoint on the University of Chicago campus on Wednesday. However, one female student managed to avoid being robbed after taking quick action against her would-be assailant.
The altercation ended when a student named Maddi managed to stop the robber by ejecting his magazine during a scuffle. Her quick thinking likely saved her life, but she would have been far less vulnerable if she had been carrying her own firearm at the time.
Three students from the University of Chicago were robbed at gunpoint just minutes apart in the area of the school’s Hyde Park campus, according to university police.
The first incident happened around 2:50 p.m. Wednesday as two students were walking on opposite sides of the street in the 5600 block of South University Avenue. Police said four armed suspects approached the victims, took their belongings and fled in a four-door black Infiniti.
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Just minutes later, another student was walking off-campus in the 1300 block of East 56th Street when two suspects allegedly approached them with handguns and took their belongings. University police described the vehicle the suspects took off in as a black four-door vehicle, which was last seen going southbound on South Dorchester Avenue.
Fortunately, none of the students were injured during the robberies. But the ordeal has left them shaken. Maddi indicated that these incidents are not as rare as they should be, noting that “It’s upsetting as students we get these alerts all of the time,” and that “[i]t’s just troubling that it becomes so desensitizing.”
Maddi described her encounter with her assailant and how she managed to disarm him.
Maddi told WGN News she was one of two students robbed at gunpoint in the incident on South University Avenue. She was walking back from class, taking the same route she typically walks, when she was approached by one of the suspects.
“You never think it’s going to be you. I was walking on South University, which is a major artery of this school, it’s well-populated, it was broad daylight,” Maddi said.
The incident was caught on a surveillance camera from a nearby building. Maddi told WGN she did not see the car pull up, but saw a man in a ski mask approach her as she was walking on the sidewalk.
She tried to keep walking, but said a confrontation unfolded and he demanded her phone.
“He flashes the gun towards me and I kind of just go blank, I throw the phone behind my hands, we get into this tussle, and he eventually gets the phone from me,” Maddi said. “I was grabbing maybe for my phone, maybe the gun, it’s really a blackout moment for me, and I realize that I was able to grab the magazine out of the gun.”
Maddi was able to toss the magazine into a bush. She said she froze for a moment when she registered what happened and immediately ran away.
“I couldn’t necessarily really register the threat ahead of me, so definitely wouldn’t advocate for fighting back. Losing a life over a phone is definitely not worth it,” Maddi said.
While she admits she would likely handle the situation differently if she had planned for something like this, she said she is glad the police department has a piece of evidence, which hopefully serves as a lead.
Security camera footage shows the encounter between Maddi and the mugger.
It’s not clear how Maddi feels about carrying a firearm. But in a city like Chicago, especially for females, gun ownership is important. The fact that there are so many alerts about these crimes that students have become desensitized to them indicates that students could be in danger at any moment. Without the ability to protect themselves, it is not hard to imagine how they can become victims of robberies – or even worse crimes.
Unfortunately, the school has a strict policy barring firearms from campus, which means only criminals who don’t care about following their rules will be armed.
The University of Chicago is committed to providing a safe and secure learning, working and living environment. Subject to the exceptions in Section III, the University prohibits the possession, use or storage of firearms, other lethal weapons, fireworks, and other dangerous objects or materials, as well as any violation any federal, state or municipal law involving weapons, by anyone.
While most universities have similar policies, there are plenty that allow concealed carry on campus. These include Utah State University, the University of Texas in Tyler, Arkansas Tech University, and several others.
