Woman assaulted, robbed outside Pitt student center; police search for suspect

Police are searching for a man accused of robbing and assaulting a woman at gunpoint near the center of the University of Pittsburgh campus in the city’s Oakland neighborhood early Tuesday, officials said.

Officers from the university and Pittsburgh Bureau of Police responded to the report of the robbery at University Place and O’Hara Street about 3:40 a.m., university police said in a statement.

The intersection is near the O’Hara Student Center, Thaw Hall and Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum.

A woman told police that a man approached her, told her he had a gun and pressed what she believed was a gun to her side, university police said in a statement.

The man then threw her to the ground multiple times, the victim told police.

“She resisted the suspect’s advances by fighting and was able to run away to call for help,” police said.

The man took the woman’s bag and its contents — including her phone, money, keys, ID and financial cards — then took off running west on O’Hara Street, police said.

Items from the purse were found scattered along O’Hara Street.

Police described the suspect as a Hispanic male in his 20s who is about 5 feet, 5 inches tall with a muscular build, “angular face with slight facial hair” and short, dark hair. The victim told police that he was wearing a dark V-neck T-shirt.

Officials asked anyone with information about the incident to call university police at 412-624-2121 or Pittsburgh police at 412-422-6520.