With only a few weeks left in the semester, the threat of violent crimes continues to be a problem around campus – including one robbery of a restaurant at gunpoint, another of a 65-year-old man at knifepoint and a physical assault on a University student.

About midnight Monday two men held up the Arby’s and Sbarro restaurants on Washington Avenue Southeast at gunpoint, making off with an undisclosed amount of money.

Ron Reier, public information officer for the Minneapolis Police Department, said employees were finishing the workday when two robbers came in through the back door and demanded money.

The two men also robbed two employees, Reier said.

The amount of money taken has not been released because it is considered evidence in an ongoing investigation, Reier said.

James Tyra, a computer science senior, was pulling through the drive-through when he saw two suspects running from Arby’s carrying a black duffel bag.

Tyra said that as he pulled up the manager was on the phone with police and asked him if he had seen anything.

When Tyra saw the two men running, he thought they looked suspicious, but was unable to get a good description, he said.

There are no suspects in custody, Reier said.

Robbed at knifepoint

A 65-year-old man was robbed at knifepoint Friday.

Josif Gezunterman said he parked his car and was walking to work on Yale Avenue Southeast when a man came up to him with a very large knife and said he was going to kill him.

The suspect asked for his wallet, and Gezunterman went to run but fell on the ground.

When he fell, the thief stole his black briefcase, Gezunterman said.

Reier said the report does not say what was in the briefcase and that Gezunterman received minor injuries from the fall but declined medical attention.

Wrong person

On Friday night a 17-year-old assaulted a University student on Church Street Southeast near the Scholars Walk.

First-year astronomy student Shawn Carney and friends were playing capture the flag and were talking when someone came up and asked what they were doing.

When they replied that they were playing capture the flag, the boy kept asking them, Carney said.

“He asked me if I thought this was some kind of game,” Carney said.

He then punched Carney in the face.

Carney said that when he told him to “chill out,” the boy punched him twice more in the face.

Steve Johnson, University deputy police chief, said police were driving by and saw the assault.

When the suspect saw police, he started running but they caught him on Washington Avenue Southeast, Johnson said.

The juvenile admitted to punching the student and said he did it because he mistakenly thought he was someone else, Johnson said.

Carney said he had a black eye and his lip was bleeding from the incident.

According to the police report, the boy was booked at a juvenile detention center for third-degree assault.

Gun – false alarm

University and Minneapolis Police responded Saturday night to the report of a person with a gun at Roy Wilkins Hall.

Johnson said two students called police saying they saw a man sitting outside putting a gun in his pocket.

Police arrived and were told the man was in a residence hall room, from which they ordered him out at gunpoint.

He said it was only a BB gun, and he had given it to another person.

Police went to the other dorm room where the gun was believed to be, but no one answered and when residence hall staff let police in with a key, there was no one in the room.

Police left directions for him to call them when he returned.

About half an hour later he did call, met with police and showed them the clear-plastic BB gun.

Police explained to him that it is legal to have a BB gun, Johnson said, but there’s potential for problems like this if others see it.

The man asked police to dispose of the gun for him, Johnson said.