Robbery occurs near UCLA on Midvale

Three men robbed five UCLA students and one alumnus at gunpoint at a 527 Midvale Ave. apartment around 1 a.m. on March 11, police said.

The suspects, who have not been caught, entered the unlocked door of an apartment where the students were holding a study group, said Los Angeles Police Department Detective Mike Pelletier.

One of the men was holding a shotgun, and another had a large knife, according to an LAPD statement.

The robbers then tied up the students using items found in the residence and took cash and property, Pelletier said. None of the students were injured, and the value of the stolen items has not yet been determined.

University police sent extra patrols to the area Thursday morning, UCPD spokeswoman Nancy Greenstein said.

Although LAPD is heading the investigation, UCPD officers will continue to maintain a patrol presence and will make themselves available as needed, Greenstein said, adding that students should be careful in the meantime.

Although the apartment building is gated and residents need a key to enter, people often follow others in without using their own keys, and people inside the building will even open the door for those standing outside, said Jazmine Gutierrez, a third-year geography student and resident.

“It’s scary,” Gutierrez said. “We leave our door (unlocked), because you need a key to get in the building so we assume we’re safe. Now we’ll stop doing that.”

This is the second armed robbery in the area in 2010. In January, nine students were robbed by a man at gunpoint in an apartment on the 400 block of Midvale Avenue, in another gated apartment complex.