University of Minnesota police responded to two gun crimes in the Southeast Como neighborhood over the weekend, and police suspect the crimes may be related due to their timing, location and suspect descriptions.

Two men were robbed at gunpoint near Talmage Avenue Southeast early Saturday, the report said.

Both victims, who are not associated with the University, were walking together just before 2 a.m. when two men approached them, the report said.

One of the men drew a handgun and demanded the victims’ wallets and electronics, said Minneapolis police Sgt. Steve McCarty, whose department will oversee the investigation. The victims gave up their valuables, and the suspects fled before police arrived.

Shortly before the robbery near Talmage, another University student had been confronted by a man with a handgun.

Chemical engineering senior Kyle Mcdermand was walking to his home near Rollins Avenue Southeast when he saw two groups of men arguing, he said.

“I stopped to watch what was going on,” he said. “Then I saw a guy raise a gun in the air.”

Mcdermand, 23, started walking away from the scene when the gunman noticed him, he said.

“He pointed the gun at me and started saying, ‘Keep walking, keep walking,’” Mcdermand said.

Mcdermand called 911, and a University police officer arrived at the scene. The two groups had already left by the time the officer arrived.

The same officer responded to the robbery call, the report said.

University police emailed a campus-wide crime alert Saturday discussing the crimes.

In addition to the robbery, the suspect can be cited for second-degree assault because he drew a handgun, McCarty said.

Student assaulted in Centennial Hall

A University student was assaulted in Centennial Hall on Sunday afternoon, according to a University police report.

The student, 18, heard yelling outside his dorm room, said University police Deputy Chief Chuck Miner. He saw one man yelling obscenities and racial slurs at two other men.

The student knew one of the men being yelled at, so he joined the other two men and tried to get the man who was yelling to leave the hallway, Miner said.

The man who was yelling suddenly entered a “fighting stance,” punched the student in the face several times and then left the hallway, Miner said.

The student noticed he had a cut on his face and walked to the University Medical Center for treatment, Miner said. He received stiches for his injury.

University police are still investigating the incident, Miner said.

The student declined to comment.