usf starbucks robbed; gunman still at grande
timThe Starbucks Coffee establishment inside the USF Library was robbed Tuesday night by a gun-wielding assailant…
A 1995 episode of the best television show ever, Sliders, presented an alternate reality in which the nation’s heroes were brainy rather than brawny, and intelligence was admired above all other qualities. One memorable moment featured gangsta rappers who also happened to be bibliophiles:
Where we gonna go?
What we gonna see?
We’re going to the LIBRARY!
(It’s pretty genius, watch it here.)
I’ve found the USF library to be my last resort for solitude when I need to get work done, or just chill out. I’ve loved libraries since I was a greasy-fingered three-year-old; I quickly lost track of how many times I was kicked out of the upstairs “adult” section of my public library, the staff convinced I belonged in the children’s wing. For all the noise and trash and nonsense that happens in my office, or outside Cooper Hall, the USF library has always been a safe place; reading this police report (.doc), thus, gives me chills:
Victim was counting the cash for the day when suspect entered through a back door and came up to the victim, ordered him to the ground, and struck him in the back of the head. Victim indicated suspect had a gun. Victim gave undisclosed amount of cash. Suspect fled Starbucks on foot. USF Police Department Investigators have been assigned the case and continue to investigate.
The mainstream media, alas, have not paid much attention to this story; the brief articles in your local media sources all seem to have written their articles based solely upon the USF police press release.
I am forced to come to one of three conclusions as a result of this:
1. The USF Police refuse to release any more information on the story.
2. Robberies in Hillsborough County are so common that they are barely newsworthy.
3. USF news doesn’t carry the public’s attention the way American Idol does.
Perhaps it is all three. The premise of USF’s campus being safe and secure has been in question since (perhaps before) the shooting last year that killed a man outside the on-campus Magnolia Apartments. Students are concerned about the safety issue following the Tuesday night incident, and I don’t blame them.
For what it’s worth, I have taught or taken classes at night for the past three years, and I’ve never felt unsafe walking across campus. Of course, I am privileged; I’m male, and while, erm, slight of build, I’m not an obvious target.
I guess the incident just makes me sad; robbing the library Starbucks seems so pathetic. I have no love for the brand, being a Dunkin’ fan myself, but I certainly will be more vigilant as I walk to the parking lot after teaching my night classes from now on.
Tags: crime, law enforcement, usf
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May 24th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
I used to work on the USF campus and I remember hearing about five years ago that there was an average of 30 attempted and/or successful car break-ins a day.
May 24th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Sliders is the best television show ever?
Everyone knows the real best television show ever is “Battlestar Galactica.” =P
May 24th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Actually, there IS crime there and it can be alarming considering the population at stake.
But keep this in mind. Compared to the rest of the city, and most notably its immediate neighborhood (suitcase city), life on campus is actually idealic. The homicide rate is something like 1 every couple of years at worst. Police response and investigation for even the most minor of crimes is rapid and extensive, and that is due in large part to the concentrated nature of the department. I was in the presence of a police officer a few years ago who was actually upset that people around a vending machine that had had its front plate glass shattered had touched the crime scene thereby making the lifting of fingerprints much more difficult. Can you imagine that depth of investigation for a vending machine break-in from the county or city police?
In fact, it’s so safe, as personal advice, I urge any family living in the high crime periphereal to use the campus as a public park. Lots of open space, no drug dealing, excellent police concentration, and a supportive upwardly mobile population where bad guys actually stick out fairly easily. If I were a father trying to bring kids up safely, and had to live in some of those area apartments, that’s exactly what I’d be taking my kids every evening to fly kites or whatever. If anything, I can’t believe USF hasn’t actually promoted its safety or space as a crime refuge.
Dave
May 24th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Why does it have to be a refuge? Why do we just have to assume that that part of town is a “bad” part of town?
May 25th, 2007 at 2:59 am
Well, granted, I’m drawing on years of anecdotal information and a barrage of almost regular headlines. True, however, the Weed and Seed program may be making a huge difference. In any event, the point stands, and while I would be careful not to assume anything, I’d still offer it’s a fair bet that the crime rate drops by double-digit points simply by crossing from one side of Bruce B. Downs, to the other.
Dave
May 25th, 2007 at 9:23 am
That whole area has gotten better over the past few years though. Fletcher is not quite to pit it used to be, thanks in part to the new job and community center on 22nd st, although drugs and crime can still be found pretty easily I guess. The USF department is always pretty aggressive against quality-of-life type stuff (especially if you are not a student or faculty). Keep in mind this kind of enforcement is controversial. We support it now because the GA Tech shooting is fresh in our minds and we see the problems the surrounding area has. It only takes one police shooting, and an officer told my father she had to draw her weapon often in this dept, and the public opinion of how the USF police do their job can change dramatically regardless of how justified it is. I hear they are getting surplus ar-15 rifles as well. I liked these cops when I dealt with them, but I was a student. They show a very different attitude towards non-students from what I have been told.
May 25th, 2007 at 10:21 am
It was a matter of time before a Starbucks got knocked off “cuz dat’s where da money is.” Would love to have been there when that lightbulb went off in that crack-addled brain.
May 25th, 2007 at 10:39 am
May 25th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Good one, Jason. Actually good TWO. Starbucks. phhhhttt. The USF police have been infamous for years. They lurk in the parknride after guavaween to get people who take the transit yet still have to drive home. Not that I condone drunk driving but that’s like shooting fish in a barrel.
OH, and what I really wanted to say was that it’s NOT what the public is interested in, I never watch tv and neither do many of my friends because it’s all stupid schniz. It’s what the media GIVES. And some people have grown up on it and don’t know any better. In my circle we poke fun at all that stuff so the kids know better. USF library and other places house some stunningly epics/documentaries/movies/educational materials .. to replace tv/cable
It is kinda low to rob a star*ucks though. How much actual CASH could be there?? dum dum dum dum