It may have seemed like just an ordinary night as an Iona student and her friend returned home, but as the student was making her way into the foyer of 30 Eastchester Road, the two women found themselves at gunpoint. An African American man of average build entered the White Oak entrance of the building behind the pair and robbed them of their possessions.

The entire student population received an email alerting them about the incident later that morning. As the email stated, the robbery occurred at 4:51 a.m. on Jan. 29. Neither of the two students were harmed but their purses, car keys and cell phones were taken.

There are two doors at the entrance of the apartment building and the outside one does not need a key to open it while the secondary door requires one for entry. The two females were going in the second door when the perpetrator entered and approached them.

They did not resist but instead submitted to the demands and turned over their possessions. Vice Provost for Student Development Charlie Carlson expressed that this was the right choice to make in the situation. He said it is better to lose a purse and a phone rather than risk the possibility of harm by putting up resistance to an armed robber.

“Things can be replaced,” he said.

However, purses, keys and phones were not the only things robbed that night—Iona’s sense of security was taken as well.

“New Rochelle is a very safe community, but anything can happen anywhere,” Carlson said. “I don’t want people to be fearful, but I want them to be armed, alert and make good decisions.”

Being that 30 Eastchester Apartments are part of off-campus housing, Iona does not have a responsibility to provide security in the area. However, since there are large numbers of Iona students there, campus security includes the surrounding roads in its routine patrols every night.

“There’s not much they can do because it’s off campus, but I think the little they can do they should do,” said senior Kara Cerrone, resident of 30 Eastchester. “I feel a lot safer how they are now with them in the parking lot.”

Iona security acts as eyes and ears in areas on and off campus, while working closely with the New Rochelle Police. In the case of an incident such as this, the police are contacted immediately, and will then intervene in whichever way necessary.

The police are still in the process of investigating the robbery. Although no suspects have been named, they are actively working to solve the case and make an arrest.

This incident does not only affect Iona students but the surrounding New Rochelle area as well. John Richards has been living in 30 Eastchester for 14 years, and this is the first time this has ever happened.

“It’s terrible; it was a freak accident,” said Richards.

In the email that students received Carlson emphasized the fact that this was “an isolated incident with no similar incidents reported in the area surrounding the College.”

However, it was the improbability and shock of the situation that made it so hard for the community to understand.

“You can do everything right to protect yourself, but you can still be the victim of a robbery,” said Carlson.

The odds show that it is unlikely that this will become a usual occurrence; however, it has also proved that such an incident is possible. Carlson urges that the community need not worry but move forward with caution and common sense.