City police investigate robberies

City police are asking Oakland residents to be on the lookout after two street robberies were… City police are asking Oakland residents to be on the lookout after two street robberies were reported Monday night.

According to Sgt. Aaron Beatty, of the Robbery Division, two Oakland residents were robbed at gunpoint near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and S. Craig Street. Beatty could not give the exact times of the robberies. Police believe the same individual committed both robberies, and that the incidents are connected to a series of other recent street robberies in Pittsburgh neighborhoods. Beatty could not comment on whether or not the victims were Pitt students.

City police have issued a description of the man they think was responsible for the robberies: The suspect is believed to be a man in his late teens or early 20s, with light skin, possibly biracial, approximately 6 feet tall and between 160 and 200 pounds. He reportedly wore a ski mask and jacket during the incidents.

Beatty advised Pitt students to be aware of their surroundings in coming weeks, particularly in parking garages and back streets where there is less traffic.

“If anything looks suspicious, contact the police,” he advised.

Anyone with information about any of the recent robberies is asked to call city police at 412-323-7800.