Purse snatched from student at IMU

A student had her purse snatched in a drive-by theft in the Indiana Memorial Union parking lot #1 Saturday night. \nSophomore Lauren Miller lost credit cards, wallet, cell phone and her Kate Spade cloth purse while walking to her car with her sister in the parking lot outside of the hotel. \nIU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said Miller was walking past the third row of cars at 11:13 p.m. when a speeding, white, four-door vehicle came toward her. As she moved out of the way, Minger said the driver reached his hand out of the vehicle and grabbed the purse and drove away. \nMiller said the driver sped toward her and she had to leap into the median just to get out of the car's path.\n"It was very, very scary. It was frightening," she said. "We had to jump out of the way. We jumped into the aisle because he was going to hit us."\nMinger said the suspect is a white male who was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt covering his head and was accompanied by another white male in the passenger seat. \nMinger said he's optimistic about the case, and he encouraged anyone with information to call 855-4111 and ask for an investigator. \n"It's under active investigation, and there's a good possibility we might be able to determine more information about the vehicle," Minger said. "Detectives are currently checking some other avenues."\nThe incident is the second case of theft at or around the IMU in just over a week. A Bloomington man was robbed at gunpoint on the sixth floor of the activities tower in the IMU Jan. 25. \nMinger said he doesn't think there is any relation between the cases or that it marks any sort of trend. \n"There's nothing to lead us to indicate that these two were connected," he said. "These are two different types, they're not even the same crime. Purse snatching and armed robbery are totally different."\nBloomington resident Ryan Corbin said he visits the IMU at least a couple times a week but security hasn't been and still isn't a big concern.\n"Yeah, I feel safe," he said. "In a way, (the crimes) surprise me. Because I can't understand why someone would really do that."\nMiller said the robbery took her by surprise because she'd always seen the IMU as a safe, well-lit environment.\n"I wasn't expecting it all," she said. "I thought I was safe there because it was a well-lit parking lot. It never even crossed my mind that something like that would happen. I'm definitely thinking about how I'll be carrying my purse now -- not that I have a purse anymore."\n-- Contact campus editor Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.