By Jesús Marrero Suárez, Madhri Yehiya, Tanisha Bhat
An armed individual stole a pizza from the Domino’s Pizza at 508 Park Dr. in South Campus at approximately 2 p.m. Wednesday.
The suspect was described “as a male, dark skin with facial hair, late 40’s early 50’s 508-510 in height, wearing a dark colored hooded sweatshirt, dark pants, wearing a fanny pack” in a Boston University Police Emergency Alert sent to the BU community at 2:46 p.m.
The alert said the armed robbery created “significant police activity” in the area and also advised students to be cautious.
BUPD also said those in the area should exercise increased caution while the individual remains at large, having fled the scene towards Brookline on Buswell Street after the robbery.
As of an emergency alert update sent at 5:37 p.m., the suspect had not been apprehended.
A Domino’s worker who wished to remain anonymous due to contractual obligations banning them from speaking on behalf of the corporation, said they were witness to the man walking into the restaurant, grabbing a pizza left inside and promptly exiting.
“I saw him going out with the pizza, so I tried to call him and he just walked out,” they said. “The drivers went after him, and he pulled a gun on the driver.”
The worker noted Boston Police Department officers arrived within minutes, asked routine questions and left about 10 minutes later. The restaurant was back in business by 4:40 p.m.
“It was not a big deal,” they said. “If the drivers hadn’t gone after the guy, nothing would have happened. He would just have stolen a pizza.”
Rich Gbessi, a sophomore in the College of Communication and resident of South Campus said the robbery did not make him concerned.
“I wouldn’t expect a college campus to get robbed but I mean, it happens, because robbers don’t care where anything’s located. So you can’t really blame the college or anything,” he said. “S— just happens.”
Gbessi added the incident does not change his impression of South Campus and that he will continue to be a customer at the Domino’s in question.
“I grew up in the Bronx, so I’m getting used to robberies happening around the city,” he said.
BU spokesperson Colin Riley said it is not advised for witnesses to get involved in situations such as this.
“We don’t encourage anyone to intervene in a situation, we want them to protect themselves and others,” he said. “Call BUPD and or 911.”
Police presence was recorded around the store at 4:45 p.m. Riley added the area will now receive increased monitoring.
“There’ll be extra patrols, BUPD in the area,” he noted. “It’s very likely they won’t be the only ones patrolling the area. There’s lots of law enforcement, from state police, transit police, Brookline, Boston, that go through campus on a regular basis.”
