Suspects arrested in recent muggings

Three men were arrested for attempted robbery Saturday night, and one may be responsible for robbing two University of Minnesota students earlier that day.

Zach Scharping and Katherine Lymn were standing in front of Lymn’s apartment building on Eighth Avenue Southeast around 2 a.m. when the suspect, who Lymn described as a college-aged black male between 5’8” and 5’9”, approached them and asked if they wanted to buy marijuana.

The two declined, and Lymn, a Minnesota Daily news editor, said the suspect immediately lifted his shirt, revealing a black handgun tucked in the waistband of his dark-colored jeans and demanded they empty their pockets.

Scharping said he didn’t see the gun right away and attempted to fight the suspect who then hit him over the head with the gun.

“He was smaller than I was, so it was basically me thinking ‘If you want my wallet, you’re going to have to take it from me — I’m not going to give it to you,’” Scharping said.

“That’s when I was really scared,” Lymn said. “I thought he was going to shoot my friend.”

The suspect grabbed Lymn’s passport, cellphone and debit card along with Scharping’s wallet and took off on foot, heading south toward University Avenue, Lymn said.

“I was just glad when the guy left,” she said.

Minneapolis police requested that Scharping and Lymn look at pictures and possibly identify the man.

Lymn spent Saturday night at her mother’s house in the suburbs and has kept friends around since returning home so she doesn’t have to be alone. She said the incident has left her shaken.

“It makes it a little worse than if it wasn’t outside my house,” Lymn said. “I’d be able to go home and feel safe. I’ve just lost that ability.”

Scharping escaped with minor injuries — some slight swelling and a mild concussion. But he said the robbery has changed how he thinks about going out at night.

“We were in a pair, it’s not like we were traveling alone,” Scharping said. “And now that it’s not even safe to travel in pairs, it’s kind of startling.”

Lymn said she knows she won’t be able to walk alone at night for a long time.

“It’s something you never think is going to happen to you until all of sudden it does when you’re least expecting it,” Scharping said.

On Monday, police told Scharping and Lymn that three men were arrested for attempting to rob someone with a pellet gun Saturday night on the same block.

“I’m so glad I wasn’t there Saturday night,” Lymn said.

Lymn said she is going to city hall this morning to look at photos and possibly identify one of the suspects as the man who robbed her.

“It makes me feel better that they may have caught him,” she said.