{ "id": "2024-11-30-usc-aggravated-assault-robbery", "slug": "usc-aggravated-assault-robbery-2024-11-30", "institution": { "name": "University of Southern California", "shortName": "USC", "state": "CA", "type": "private-r1", "alertSystemName": "TrojansAlert", "enrollment": 49500 }, "incident": { "date": "2024-11-30", "type": "robbery", "cleryCategory": "timely-warning", "headline": "Aggravated assault and robbery in a parking lot near campus prompt a timely warning", "headlinePublic": "Aggravated assault and robbery in a parking lot near campus prompt a timely warning", "summary": "USC's [Department of Public Safety](https://dps.usc.edu/) issued a timely warning after an [aggravated assault and robbery](https://dps.usc.edu/2024/11/30/aggravated-assault-robbery/) occurred at 8:27 p.m. PST on November 30, 2024, in the parking lot behind La Barca's restaurant at 2414 Vermont Avenue, within USC's Clery geography.", "outcome": "Investigation opened by USC DPS and LAPD Southwest Division. No immediate arrest announced.", "resolution": "under-investigation" }, "alerts": [ { "sequence": 1, "type": "initial", "timestampApprox": "Issued November 30, 2024 by USC Department of Public Safety", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "Incident Description: A suspect robbed two victims at gunpoint and pistol whipped one of the victims. The suspect fled from the location in an unknown direction of travel. The victims are not affiliated with USC.\n\nReported Offense: Aggravated Assault & Robbery\n\nDate & Time of Occurrence: 11/30/2024 8:27 p.m.\n\nLocation: In the parking lot behind La Barca’s, located at 2414 Vermont Avenue\n\nReport Number: 24-11-30-350609\n\nVehicle Description: None\n\nSuspect Description (provided by reporting party):\n\nAge: 35 to 40 years old\nEye Color: Unknown\nHair Color: Unknown\nHeight: 6 feet\nRace: Hispanic\nSex: Male\nWeight: 250 pounds\nAdditional Description: Wearing a black ski mask, black sweater, and black pants\nWeapon: Semi-automatic handgun\n\nIf you are in immediate DANGER, call the Los Angeles Police Department at 911 or the USC Department of Public Safety at (213) 740-4321.\n\nPlease note that race, ethnicity, gender and/or religious affiliation are NOT considered the basis for suspicion; only behaviors are considered suspicious.\n\nIf you have information relevant to the crime(s) reflected in this alert, immediately call DPS at (213) 740-6000 for the University Park Campus (UPC), (323) 442-1000 for the Health Sciences Campus (HSC) or (213) 485-6571 for the LAPD Southwest Division.\n\nThe purpose of this warning is to aid in the prevention of similar crimes by alerting the community about the incident and to provide information which allows individuals to make informed decisions about their personal safety.\n\nUSC Department of Public Safety Recommendations – Aggravated Assault\n\nIf you are assaulted, immediately go to a safe location and report the crime to law enforcement. For the University Park Campus (UPC) call DPS emergency at (213) 740-4321, for the Health Sciences Campus (HSC) call (323) 442-1000 or call the Los Angeles Police Department at 911.\nIf you observe an assault in progress, STAY CALM AND CALL DPS emergency for UPC at (213) 740-4321, for HSC call (323) 442- 1000 or the LAPD at 911. Do not attempt to apprehend any suspects or perpetrators of crime. Your personal safety and the safety of others around you should be your primary concern.\nNot every person you meet has good intentions. Be cautious of strangers, and keep a safe distance. There is safety in numbers, so travel with friends.\nAvoid using cell phones or other technology while walking as criminals target distracted, inattentive individuals using them.\nBe a good witness: It is important to recall what you observed and provide as many details as possible to law enforcement such as: the sex, race, age, height, hair color, clothing, tattoos, scars of any suspects and a description of the make and model of any vehicle used in the crime and its license plate if possible.\nDo not attempt to apprehend any suspects or perpetrators of crime.\n\nOther options to contact DPS, to report crime, ask for help and to receive information:\n\nBlue light emergency phones are located throughout UPC and HSC. The phones are connected to the USC DPS’ 24-hour communications center and identify the phone location if the caller is unable to speak. The phones can be used to request help, an escort, report suspicious activity and to report crimes. For more information visit: Emergency Blue Light Phones | Department of Public Safety | USC.\nSecurity Ambassadors: In addition to DPS officers who patrol a 2.5 mile radius around USC’s campuses, USC contracts with “Security Ambassadors” to patrol street corners in nearby neighborhoods and to observe and report crime and suspicious activity. This security force wears bright yellow jackets so you can easily spot them. If you need assistance, look for a Security Ambassador.\nGet a Ride: Lyft is now available at HSC and UPC to cover shared rides. Lyft at UPC is open from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week. Lyft at HSC is open from 5 p.m. to midnight, Monday through Friday only. Please visit the USC Lyft page for more information: https://transnet.usc.edu/index.php/campus-cruiser-program/how-to-use-lyft/\nVerify your driver and car: Once you have requested a Lyft ride, you can view the driver’s rating. When your ride arrives, make sure the driver’s photo, license plate number and vehicle description match. Never take a ride you did not request or get into a car that doesn’t match the details provided by the Lyft app.\nGo the extra mile: The Lyft app’s “share your ETA” function allows you to invite friends to see your trip in real-time. The app will draft a text message you can share with friends that includes your ETA and a link to a live map that allows them to track your trip. Too much effort? Call a friend and stay on the line while you’re in the car instead.\nLiveSafe APP: To quickly make emergency push button calls to DPS or 911 on your mobile phone, download the Trojan Mobile Safety APP “LIVESAFE” from Google Play or the Apple iTunes Store. For more information regarding LIVESAFE visit https://dps.usc.edu/services/safety-app/.\nTrojansAlert: Register for USC’s emergency notification system TrojansAlert to allow university officials to contact you during an emergency by sending messages via text message and email. For more information visit: http://dps.usc.edu/services/trojans-alerts/. (Please note that students, staff and faculty automatically are signed up for TrojansAlerts.)", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://dps.usc.edu/2024/11/30/aggravated-assault-robbery/", "sourceDescription": "USC Department of Public Safety Timely Warnings Archive", "annotations": [ "Verbatim incident narrative recovered from the USC DPS archive at dps.usc.edu/2024/11/30/aggravated-assault-robbery/: 'A suspect robbed two victims at gunpoint and pistol whipped one of the victims. The victims are not affiliated with USC. The suspect fled from the location in an unknown direction of travel.'", "La Barca's at 2414 Vermont Avenue is a restaurant within USC's Clery geography, placing this in the mandatory reporting zone despite being off the main campus footprint", "The incident at 8:27 p.m. PST occurred during evening hours when students may be patronizing nearby restaurants and businesses, heightening the relevance to the campus community", "Combines aggravated assault (the pistol whipping) with robbery, indicating the use of force and a firearm during the property crime, which elevates the Clery classification", "USC issued this as one of multiple robbery-related timely warnings in November 2024, reflecting a period of elevated property crime near campus", "2026-09-28 audit a1: paired correction to the live product. second reader; the other read prefixed list items with a hyphen not in the HTML." ], "characterCount": 5331 } ], "context": "This timely warning was one of several robbery-related alerts issued by USC's [Department of Public Safety](https://dps.usc.edu/) during November 2024, a month that also saw an [attempted robbery on November 21](https://dps.usc.edu/2024/11/21/attempt-robbery-7/) and a separate [aggravated assault on November 28](https://dps.usc.edu/2024/11/30/aggravated-assault-23/) at the Flower Street Parking Structure. The concentration of violent property crimes near USC's University Park Campus reflects the ongoing security challenges in the [South Los Angeles neighborhood surrounding the university](https://dps.usc.edu/alerts/). La Barca's restaurant on Vermont Avenue is within USC's Clery geography, the defined area that triggers mandatory timely warning obligations. USC maintains an active timely warning publication record, with each alert archived as a permanent web page on the [DPS website](https://dps.usc.edu/category/alerts/timely-warnings/).", "sources": [ { "title": "USC DPS - Aggravated Assault and Robbery Timely Warning", "url": "https://dps.usc.edu/2024/11/30/aggravated-assault-robbery/", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "USC DPS - Timely Warnings Archives", "url": "https://dps.usc.edu/category/alerts/timely-warnings/", "type": "official-archive" } ], "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "timely-warning", "robbery", "aggravated-assault", "california", "private-university", "property-crime" ], "dateAdded": "2026-05-03", "lastUpdated": "2026-09-28", "addedBy": "ingestion" }