An SIU student was robbed at gunpoint Thursday evening while walking to his girlfriend’s home, which is about 200 yards from the westside of campus, just north of the Communication Building.

Andy Juravic, a sophomore from Glenview studying business, said he was walking south of West Mill Street in the 900 block of South Elizabeth Street about 6:50 p.m. when he heard footsteps behind him. 

He said he looked back and saw three males following his trail.

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“They didn’t look threatening at all,” he said. “And they all knew I saw them.” 

He said shortly thereafter, a gun was in his face.

“He pointed it up, so I took my wallet and cell phone out and gave it to him,” the 25-year-old said. The other two men, he said, waited by the street as his belongings were taken.

Juravic said the male did not discharge his weapon during the robbery and ordered him to run in the opposite direction, toward South Oakland Street.

By the time Juravic looked back, the group was gone. He ran into his girlfriend’s house, which was about 10 yards away, and called Carbondale police. 

Juravic said the police were there within minutes. 

From what he saw, the man who pointed the gun at him was about 6-foot tall and slender with short hair. Juravic said the suspect was wearing a mostly white hoodie with red and blue on it. All three males appeared to be in their 20s, he said. 

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When asked about what was going through his head during the incident, Juravic said: “This sucks because I have spring break and now I don’t have a debit card.” 

Throughout the ordeal, Juravic said he remained calm as could be. 

“The first thing I told my friends was that ‘I always thought it would be scarier having a gun pulled on you,’” he said. “He didnt seem like he was going to shoot me. Yeah he was pointing the gun at me, but he was back a little bit.”

As far as Juravic knows, police have no suspects in custody.

The university sent this message to students following the robbery. 

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Carbondale police could not be reached as of 9 p.m. Thursday.

The Daily Egyptian campus desk can be reached at 618-536-3325