(UPDATED) Duke Police Step Up Off-Campus Patrols

Duke University Police have begun increasing their patrols of apartments and other locations near the campus following a series of recent crimes involving members of the Duke community.

At a special "Primetime" town hall meeting Wednesday evening, campus members will be able to hear from Duke officials about this and other steps to enhance security. Durham Police officials also will be present at the meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Schiciano Auditorium of the Fitzpatrick Center.

Aaron Graves, associate vice president for campus safety and security, said Duke already has begun beefing up its patrols "along LaSalle Street, in Trinity Park, by Anderson Street and elsewhere near the campus, which we do through a cooperative agreement with the city. We're also expanding our use of private security forces to ensure we simultaneously remain safe here on campus."

Larry Moneta, Duke's vice president for student affairs, said the university plans to meet with local landlords to discuss ways of enhancing security for students and other tenants, such as by fixing broken locks and enhancing lighting, as well as looking at improving transportation options to and from campus.The actions follow the news Friday evening that Abhijit Mahato, a Duke graduate student, had been found shot to death in an apartment complex in the 1600 block of Anderson Street, several blocks south of the campus.  

Two nights later, a Duke student and an employee reported being robbed at gunpoint in separate incidents at the Poplar Manor and the Poplar West apartment complexes, off LaSalle Street, north of the campus. Neither victim was injured  

In an e-mail sent to the Duke community Monday night, President Richard H. Brodhead said, "I write to share my great sadness over the sudden and senseless death of Abhijit Mahato, a graduate student in the Pratt School of Engineering, who was murdered in his off-campus apartment this weekend. Having spoken with Professor Tod Laursen, in whose lab Abhijit was making important contributions, I have a sense of his great promise and endearing character. I extend my sympathy to Abhijit's friends and colleagues and to all members of the Indian and Hindu community for this appalling loss."

All three cases are being investigated by Durham police, who are simultaneously seeking information about more than 30 robberies targeting Latino victims across the city since Jan. 1. Duke police officials said they are working closely with their counterparts in the city, as well as with other officials across the university who worked together through the holiday weekend in response to the incidents. A campus alert about the shooting death was e-mailed to the Duke community Saturday afternoon and a separate alert about the two robberies was e-mailed early Monday morning.

The same man is suspected of committing both robberies, the alert said. It described the robber as a black man, 5-feet 8 inches tall, who was wearing a black coat with brown fur trim, black pants and white sneakers. He also wore a bandana, which was described as being either black or black-and-white.

On Monday, members of Duke's Indian community gathered at International House to meet with two officials from the Indian embassy in Washington, D.C., who also met privately with Brodhead. Mahato's death has generated wide interest from the Indian-American press and from the news media in India.

At 1 p.m. Friday in the Fitzpatrick Center's Schiciano Auditorium, a memorial service will be held for Mahato, whose body was released by police authorities over the weekend to be flown to India, a process Duke administrators helped facilitate with the family.

In addition, Mahato's friends have organized a prayer service at the Hindu Temple at 309 Aviation Parkway, Morrisville, from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Sunday that is open to anyone who wishes to attend.

 Moneta said his staff also has reached out to graduate and undergraduates student leaders about the recent crimes and to Duke's Latino student community to respond to any special concerns about the recent robberies of Latino residents in Durham.