A teenager threatened two MSU students with an empty glass bottle while demanding money outside the Brody Complex on Monday afternoon, police say.
Neither of the 19-year-old male students was injured during the 3 p.m. robbery near the bike racks of Bryan Hall, MSU police Inspector Mary Johnson said.
The attacker, described by victims as a thin, 15- to 17-year-old man about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, wearing a leather jacket, fled with a small amount of money. He was riding a silver BMX-style bike when he approached the victims.
The assailant, who hasn't been identified, fled the scene. Police have leads and continue to investigate.
"There was some dialogue that went back and forth, and that led to the threat with the bottle and the demand for money," Johnson said.
Monday's armed robbery comes about a week after a 24-year-old man was approached at gunpoint while sleeping in his car in an alleyway near the 100 block of Gunson Street.
In late September, a rash of aggressive thefts occurred in the city. None of the victims were seriously injured.
In separate incidents, two female students were robbed at gunpoint. In another, three students were tied up by gunmen, who apparently ransacked their apartment looking for drugs, East Lansing police said.
Johnson said it is unlikely the on-campus robbery is related to the others.
"When this occurs in neighboring jurisdictions, we try to increase patrolling in those areas," she said. "People should report suspicious persons that are in the area."
There have been eight reported armed robberies on campus between 1998 and 2002.
Earlier this year, an MSU student was held up at knifepoint in his Case Hall room by men posing as charity solicitors. He was not injured.
East Lansing police have made a series of arrests in relation to the recent aggressive thefts and other convenience store robberies that took place during the summer.
A tip led police to one man believed to be responsible for the random female student robberies. Another man remains at large.
"We've solved the one robbery, and now we are just looking for the accomplice," East Lansing police Sgt. Mike Phillips said.
"We had some good luck with the armed robberies and the convenience store robberies, but we are still working on them."
