A student walking through Campustown Tuesday night was nearly the victim of an armed robbery.
The man was crossing the parking lot in front of the former Save-a-Lot store when a maroon SUV pulled up next to him.
The men inside ordered him to empty his pockets, but he refused and walked away.
Moments later, he turned back to see a man exit the vehicle with a gun in his hand. The student then ran into the St. James Apartment Complex and called 911. The vehicle fled eastbound on Windom Street.
City and University police searched the area with negative results.
At the request of the university, the Peoria Police Department will have two additional patrol officers in the neighborhood through the end of the spring semester.
“We will continue to evaluate our campus patrol routines throughout the summer,” University President Joanne Glasser said in an e-mail Wednesday.
