Two students threatened at knifepoint in attempted robbery outside V-Dub

On Saturday afternoon, two Brown students were threatened at knifepoint during an attempted robbery outside Verney-Woolley Dining Hall, according to an email from the Department of Public Safety and videos reviewed by The Herald. According to Ben Cherek ’27, a student involved in the incident, one student was punched but neither was stabbed.

Around noon, Cherek was “on (his) way to get a burrito bowl” when he saw two people fighting in front of the V-Dub.

“At first, I just kind of sat and watched, because people fight all the time on campus,” Cherek said. “And then someone hits the ground and starts screaming, ‘Help!’”

Cherek said the altercation occurred during a Facebook Marketplace transaction where the assaulted student was attempting to sell a camera worth about $1,000. The buyer, who Cherek believes was not affiliated with Brown, allegedly tried to rob the student during the exchange, Cherek added.

The student who initiated the transaction declined to comment on the incident.

When Cherek ran over to help the other student — whom he had never previously met — the assailant charged at him with a knife, he said. Cherek recalled hearing “an audible clicking sound” as the knife’s blade locked into place. The other student then ran away.

After the assailant charged at him, Cherek ran away and the assailant fled the scene in a white Honda Civic. No items were stolen.

The students called 911 and later filed reports with both the Providence Police Department and the DPS, Cherek added.

Although the other student was punched during the incident, according to Cherek, neither student sustained serious injuries or stab wounds. He added that “everything was handled very professionally and well by the police.”

“No amount of improved campus security could have stopped (the incident) from happening,” Cherek said.

But Cherek said he was “upset” that the DPS did not issue a timely warning notification about the incident to the Brown community.

On Monday, Cherek met with Vice President for Campus Safety Rodney Chatman, who also serves as chief of the DPS, to discuss the release of a notice in accordance with the Clery Act, a federal law that requires the University to provide information on certain campus crimes to the community in a timely manner.

But Cherek was told the incident did not meet all the requirements for a notification: While the attempted assault was a confirmed crime that occurred on Brown’s campus, the DPS did not deem it an ongoing threat to the Brown community.

“The incident was a targeted interaction stemming directly from an online transaction initiated by the student, and there is no information to suggest the perpetrator represents a continuing or general threat to the campus community,” Chatman wrote in an email to The Herald.

In their meeting, Chatman also explained to Cherek that the DPS did not issue a community notification in order to avoid retraumatizing victims or causing unnecessary fear on campus.

The PPD also advised Cherek that residents completing Facebook Marketplace transactions with strangers can do so at police stations to mitigate risk. Neither the DPS nor the PPD shared further information about the subject.

Chatman added that the DPS will be sending out resources to assist the Brown community with online transactions via Today@Brown over the coming days.