Persons of interest sought in 2 incidents, which police say may be related
Three people were robbed over the weekend in Five Points in a pair of incidents that police say might be connected.
The robberies come as city leaders continue to propose solutions to crime in the popular bar district after a stray bullet paralyzed first-year business student Martha Childress earlier this month. And they happened during the first weekend in which USC was in session after the shooting.
The first robbery happened just before 3:30 a.m. Saturday on the 700 block of Saluda Avenue, where a man in a red sweatshirt followed two men into an alleyway and demanded they empty their pockets, police said in a release Monday.
The robber, described as a black man between 20 and 25 years old, made off with a cellphone and some cash. Another man may have been involved, but victims weren’t able to provide a description.
Less than 24 hours later, at 1 a.m. Sunday, a pair of men approached a man walking alone on Greene Street, took his cellphone and money and ran away. At least one of the suspects had a gun.
The victim wasn’t able to give police a description for one of the two robbers and said the other was a black man wearing a gray sweatshirt and gray pants.
Interim Columbia Police Chief Ruben Santiago and USC President Harris Pastides did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Police also released surveillance photos Monday that show several men they are calling persons of interest.
“The cameras are mounted across the city for a reason,” Santiago said in the release. “I am confident that these persons of interest will be identified and located.”