An LMC student was assaulted and robbed by an unidentified individual in the Science building Wednesday at approximately 11:45 a.m.  The criminal entered the study room where LMC student and member of AGS club Jerome Ner was counting money.

“A few days ago we were doing a lumpia sale,” said Ner “I was counting the money to see just how much we made.”  Ner was approached by a man he had never seen before,  “When he headed in I didn’t think anything bad would happen,” said Ner. “When he put his hand on the money I tried to stop him.”

The assailant and Ner briefly struggled for the money.

“He shoved me against the wall, I hit the ground and tried to keep the door closed, but he opened it and ran, that’s when I started calling for help,” said Ner.

The assailant is described by a mass text sent by police services as “a black male adult, mid twenties, with a medium build. The suspect was wearing an orange ‘hoodie.’”

Ner was robbed of not the whole cash box, but only a portion of it.  “I was counting the fives,” said Ner,  “It amounted to about $280,” said Ner.

According to the campus alert, the assailant fled towards parking lot A then made a right towards Delta Fair Boulevard.

This crime is by no means normal for the science building or time of day, MESA director Nicole Trager commented on crime in the science building.  “We have had a lot of backpack theft,” said Trager, “we have had a lot of times where people steal things, but not assaults.”

STEM student and friend of Ner, Cliven Daluz heard the incident. “I was in lab and I heard a scream,” said Daluz, “we didn’t know what was happening, then Jerome screamed the professor’s name,” said Daluz.

Daluz, who is also a part of the AGS club expressed his relief at Ner’s safety, “money can be replaced, I’m just glad Jerome is ok.”

This robbery has shaken students who frequent the Science building, shaking their tight knit community.

“We were not expecting something like this to happen here,” said Daluz, “This is where the MESA center is, and most of our classes, it’s a community.” 

Ner was similarly surprised that a place of safety for the STEM community was so brazenly violated.  “I was very confortable there,” said Ner, “I’m a STEM major.”

STEM professor Abbey Duldulao commented on the crime.  “The study rooms are locked normally, said Duldulao, “it is common for students who don’t know each other to get together and study in them.”

If you have any information about the robbery please contact police services, this sort of bold, daylight robbery is new and cannot become the norm at this campus.