Hey, there! Log in / Register
Picky robber targetting women talking on iPhones at night in Brookline
By adamg on Fri, 04/27/2012 - 2:36pm
Boston University Police report at least four women walking at night on the normally quiet streets of Brookline have been robbed of their iPhones since March 28:
The suspect description has been consistently a black male between 5'10" and 6' feet tall and heavy set. The suspect is specifically targeting iPhones. All four victims have been women who were walking alone while talking on their iPhones. The suspect has pushed, punched or hit the victims, and no weapon has been shown. The crimes have taken place between 8:00 PM and midnight.
The robberies have occurred on St. Paul, High and Browne streets and Longwood Avenue, police say.
Residents should be advised to limit cell phone use when walking alone, especially during the night.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
For the fiftieth frickin' time
Women should not be walking by themselves at night. Period. Women's rights are nice and all, but guess what, ladies: Men are still bigger than you and will win a physical confrontation, unless you are carrying pepper spray or are trained in martial arts.
I love women. It's hard for me to read about things like this. Please, ladies, curb your pride and be sensible.
And don't forget
your burkas!!!
burqas aren't enough
Te menz should issue a curfew to keep us widdle women safe. Tucked in and out of sight by nightfall or ELSE, ladies!
I am not a martial artist,
I am not a martial artist, and i'm quite small for a woman and I have brought down several much men when i need to. Walking with an Iphone in that area at night is stupid and stupidity is the same whether you are male or female.
Oh, give it a rest! Women
Oh, give it a rest! Women don't walk around by themselves out of "pride". Mostly I just have places to be.
Yes, they do walk by themselves out of pride
I have a friend who legitimately got robbed at gunpoint in Allston. It took me MONTHS after that happened to get her to take a ride from me at 2 AM when the bar closed. Yes, there is a pride element here.
Sounds like maybe she didn't
Sounds like maybe she didn't want to get in a car with you at 2 am...
Well, she did it eventually
So what do you know?
Then she was dumb to do so
Women are at much greater risk from men in their lives than men on the street.
Seriously.
Like when I worked in Mission Hill after the Stuart murder - I would tell people who fretted about my walking the area after hours that "I'll be fine - I DON'T BRING MY HUSBAND WITH ME".
My friend is dumb?
Bunch of know-it-alls you people are, huh?
Not a wise move
Some guy badgering you to accept a ride for safety? Um. Bad idea:
http://www.idph.state.il.us/about/womenshealth/fac...
Yep, you got me
I'm a giant scumbag. I befriend women at my workplace, break down their defenses, then BAM! I diddle them as soon as they're riding shotgun. And then I, a public figure and entertainer, brag about it on the Internet with my real (expletive) name.
Witch hunters, the lot of you.
You make it so easy...
Open up on Uhub with a sexist rant... You didn't really expect this crowd to be able to resist, did you? And then, Republican-like, act all insulted when the very large group you've just insulted reacts. Time to trot out your wife (or maybe the lady you finally harangued into take a ride home with you) to let us know how much you really understand women.
Lecil, you gotta be (expletiving) me
1) Of course it's a sexist rant. Did you read the story? A MAN attacked a WOMAN. The sexes ARE the story. It's like calling Arizona profiling "racist." Of course it's racist. That's the point.
2) "Republican-like?" We're discussing a crime story, not a political story. The word "Republican" does not even appear in the story.
3) Fine, I'll put my money where my mouth is. I'm not going to post the name of my friend on the Internet, but you can e-mail me at vtexposfan at yahoo dot com if you really want to examine my character.
I say plenty of outlandish stuff, and maybe even upset some people when I've misjudged my familiarity with them and what I can get away with, but I'm clean as a whistle. Don't believe me? Get to know my friends and judge me on the company I keep.
8 pm
I'm a quite tiny woman myself, and I completely understand that it's risky walking by yourself at night.
However, 8 pm is not late at night! 8 pm is the end of rush hour. And with so many students, people on hospital schedules, and people working service-sector jobs, even midnight isn't that late.
My first year out of college, I got off work at 11 pm once a week, and often got out of staff meetings at 9 pm. Several of my friends worked in theaters, and would get off of work between 12 am and 2 am. Should my former employer and the theater have said, "Sorry, we can't hire you because you might get attacked during your commute home."
I think the bigger issue is that everyone who lives in Brookline thinks that because they pay higher rent and have cute streetlights, they're somehow immune from crime.
Yes.
I agree about Brookline residents. A few years ago, I was looking for a new roommate situation and answered a Craigslist ad in Coolidge Corner. They lived in a small apartment building with a few units, and let me know that all the residents, as a matter of course, left the building unlocked. Not their individual apartments--the building itself. I didn't take that apartment...
I also agree that 8:00 is not "late at night," and that pedestrians should feel safe at that hour. But it's probably best to avoid talking on cell phones while walking alone after dark, period.
Get a life!
Get a life!
Freedom of the city
Anyone should be able to walk on any land that is open to the public, at any time of day or night that it is open.
Wherever that is not the case, it is a problem that must be solved. Otherwise, the situation will only get worse.
You know what would solve the problem?
Run a sting op. Get a plainclothes female cop to walk around with an iPhone. Somebody attacks her, you have cops ready to make an arrest. It's not difficult. Then change the laws so that we can execute any man who attacks a woman. We have laws that specifically make preying on the elderly a more serious crime...why don't we have these for women?
You've got the sign wrong
Women walking alone are doing noting wrong. Clearly what we need
here is a 7pm curfew on men.
(Thought I'd toss that one out while we're offering up idiotic suggestions...)
No no. Women aren't at fault
No no. Women aren't at fault here; they're being preyed upon by a man. Thus surely if we follow your line of thinking, the more appropriate response would be to issue a curfew prohibiting men from being outside after dark. Be sensible!
Put yer money where yer mouth is...
So you'll be buying me a car? Because otherwise, I kinda have to walk alone at night to, y'know, get home from work.
Are there no men in your workplace?
What happened to men being men? Know your role, guys...look out for the ladies in your life. Offer to walk or drive them home after dark if they live in an area with bad people.
They are under curfew
After all, it is men misbehaving and not women that are the problem, right?
It should be men who are prohibited from walking at night unescorted - just in case they want to do something criminal.
I think the message should just be
be more aware of your surroundings and whats going on around you.
It's not hard to both have your music on, at a respectable volume and still be able to hear the outside world and know/see whats around you. Especially at night where traffic is more of a worry.
Maybe its because I've always been a people watcher, but I'm always looking all around when walking, even at night, just out of curiosity and making sure some cyclist or driver ain't gonna run me over. But, I've seen plenty of people who somehow put on headphones and are in their own bubbled world, oblivious to even traffic lights and people.
THIS.
You are totally correct. I'm actually against walking around with headphones or talking on the phone because you're basically advertising to someone that you're not paying attention to what's going on around you. It makes you a great target. Even better if you're using an expensive piece of electronics to show how much you're not paying attention. And sure, women are more attractive targets because they're perceived to be not as strong, but it's not about not walking around alone, it's about walking around not looking like prey.
It's annoying, and it's unfair, but it's also reality and life.
Roger that.
It does not matter what anyone should be able to do. The reality of the situation is that walking around at night in the city with your attention diverted and hearing impaired is just not the best idea in the world.
Advertising those things to others, particularly by having your arm up to your ear or by wearing the tell-tale white headphones makes a bad idea even worse.
To further the above
Eye contact also help.
Head down and looking oblivious to everything around you is a almost subconscious sign of weakness, and as unfortunately as it is, people looking to mug someone are looking for the path of least resistance.
Just carrying yourself different and making eye contact can make someone planning something move on because they know you saw them, and you project yourself as someone more confident, and thus more likely to fight back or see it coming.
It's surprising to me how many people trudge down the streets, staring at their feet and averting any eye contract what so ever.
Eye contact CAN sometimes....
... be dangerous. One of the scarier homeless guys in downtown Atlanta (once upon a time) would go ballistic if he thought someone was looking directly at him.
Sometimes it doesn't even take headphones
I am continually amazed at how oblivious some people seem just walking around. I have frequently seen people walk into the middle of busy streets completely unconcerned about oncoming traffic. I once saw a woman smash full force into a streetlight near South Station. You'd be surprised what a loud noise a face hitting a pole makes.
Not paying attention
Most of these comments refer to women walking at night. It has nothing to do with whether you are male or female or what neighborhood your in.
Is it really that important that you have to be on your phone walking down the street? Can't you make that call before you leave wherever you are?
If your on a cell phone then you can't pay attention to your surroundings. For the life of me, I can't understand what is soooo important that people need to be on the phone (or an iPod etc w/earphones in for that matter)
More people than not, check it out sometime, will have a device in their hand when walking, whether they are using it or not.
Is it insecurity?
Bottom line, put your crap away and pay attention.