A view of the Williams Village East dorm. (Aug. 30, 2019) (Robert Tann/CU Independent)
At 3:55 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the University of Colorado Boulder Police Department (CUPD) issued a safety alert after two people attempted to commit an armed robbery at Williams Village.
While the initial alert warned of an “armed robbery at Williams Village,” CU Boulder’s Director of Communications Steve Hurlbert later clarified nothing was stolen during the incident.
Hurlbert said two suspects in dark clothing approached a man in the Williams Village parking lot and attempted to rob him, but he ran away.
The attempted robbery occurred at about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to a university update published at 12:15 p.m. the same day.
“It appears [the suspects] were shooting in the air to scare him,” Hurlbert said.
He later updated this comment, stating “early information indicated that they may have fired in the air, but it could be that is not the case,” in an email to the CU Independent. The university statement stated the suspects fired two gunshots.
Hurlbert added police are unsure of the type of firearm used in the incident, but are hopeful security camera video will provide more insight into the attempted robbery.
After firing shots, the two suspects left the area in a white Jeep Cherokee, the initial alert read. The pair left towards Baseline road, just north of the Williams Village campus.
The first alert was sent through text message and email but was not published on university social media accounts.
A second alert, sent at 4:24 a.m., said no one was injured during the robbery and suspects had left the area.
This alert was sent through email, text message and was posted to several university-affiliated Twitter accounts.
“There are no indications that these individuals were in any way connected to campus or that they will return to campus,” Hurlbert said.
Police ask anyone with information to call 303-492-6666, CUPD’s non-emergency line, and reference case number 2023-0800.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Contact CU Independent Editor-in-Chief Henry Larson at henry.larson@colorado.edu.
