Police are investigating whether the robbery of a University of Tampa student this month is connected to the fatal shooting of a UT student in August.
Both cases involved a gunman robbing students in the early morning near the North Boulevard bridge, Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.
"At this point, it's not determined if they're linked," she said.
Ryan McCall, 21, who ran cross country at the university, was fatally shot Aug. 19. He and his friend were held up on the north side of the bridge as they were returning from the Retreat bar on South Hyde Park Avenue.
The most recent robbery occurred at 2:25 a.m. Nov. 7. A 19-year-old UT student and another person were walking south over the bridge when a man motioned them over and asked whether they wanted to buy drugs, McElroy said. When they declined, the suspect pulled out a black semi-automatic pistol and said, "Give me what you got."
The suspect stole the student's wallet and fled into a housing complex on North Boulevard, McElroy said.
The suspect is described as a black man age 18 to 21, 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap and Yankees jacket.
Last month, police released a revised description of the suspect in the McCall shooting. He is described as a black man in his late teens or early 20s, 5-foot-8, with a dark complexion, hair on his chin and baggy eyes. His hair is a half-inch to an inch, possibly in twists.
"We have worked very closely with UT security, and we have met with them on both these cases," McElroy said Monday. "We have increased our patrols in the early morning hours when the students are leaving the clubs."
Anyone with information should call (813) 231-6130 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477.
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