Two UCF students were jumped and robbed while walking home from Knight’s Pub early Wednesday morning.
Josiah Devine said four men snuck up on him and his friend when he was on his way to the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house before one of the men cocked a pistol to his friend’s face. The suspect proceeded to hit the student across the face with his pistol, while the other three men attacked Devine.
When the Knight’s Pub opened last year, students who lived in Sterling Central and off-campus fraternity houses in the area were excited to have a bar within safe walking distance. However, according to Knight’s Pub owner Pete Zachman, fights and robberies around the Aristotle Avenue area are very common.
“I used to live in a fraternity house back there when I went to school, so I’m familiar with the crime. It’s not really new,” Zachman said.
Zachman said a similar situation happened just weeks ago where a student was robbed at gunpoint in the same area. He said safety is a top priority for the bar and that he issues three off-duty cops four nights a week, which is one more off-duty cop than required.
“Within the perimeter of the Pub I go above and beyond to make sure not only everyone’s safe, but that they feel safe. No one likes to party at a bar if they’re worried about safety,” Zachman said.
The suspects were able to steal the victims’ wallets and one of their cell phones before running away.
Phi Delta Theta President Jordan Smith said that his chapter plans on using the incident as a learning experience.
“We got extremely lucky that Josiah was okay. I have told brothers that from now, you should call a taxi or call a brother that you know is sober that night to come pick you up. There should be no walking in small groups until more patrols start going through there,” Smith said.
Josiah Devine was driven to the hospital shortly after the incident, requiring stitches.
He described the aggressors as four males around 6′ 1″ tall. He said the gunman was white with brown hair and the other three men were African-American.
