Key Figures The Victims

Sophomores Aaron Belkin and Eric Tsai. Tsai surrendered his phone and wallet to the assailants. The Assailants

Four black males in their late teens/early 20s. The Friend

Junior Chris Holt was driving when he saw Belkin on foot. He joined in pursuit of the assailants. The Police

University City Police officers had been alerted by Belkin and Holt.

Editor’s note: Last update at February 14, at 3:30 am

Two students were mugged at the corner of Waterman and Melville avenues Sunday evening but helped police arrest two of their assailants after a friend came to their aid.

Sophomore Aaron Belkin said he and classmate Eric Tsai were mugged by four assailants as they were walking toward the Delmar Loop.

Junior Chris Holt, a friend of the two students, picked up Belkin in his car after seeing him chase two of the assailants on foot. Belkin and Holt continued the chase by car, and they updated the police of the assailants’ position until the two assailants were arrested on the Loop.

The four assailants were described as black males wearing dark sweatshirts. Belkin said the four followed him and Tsai toward the Loop and physically assaulted the two around 8 p.m. Tsai surrendered his wallet and cell phone to the assailants.

At least one assailant instructed Tsai to run toward Washington University. Two of the assailants fled the scene while the remaining two pursued Belkin, who was running around the area looking for help.

“I started yelling, ‘Someone call the police,’ and nobody heard,” Belkin said. “I was helpless; I was trying to find someone, and they were punching my friend.”

Belkin said he saw a girl getting out of her car on Kingsbury Boulevard and told her to remain in the vehicle and call the police. The assailants then tried to flee, and Belkin pursued them.

Holt said he was driving on Melville toward Delmar Boulevard when he saw Belkin pursuing two of the assailants on foot near the Greenway dumpsters. Holt, who eventually drove on Delmar to Leland Avenue, picked up Belkin at the street corner before making a U-turn on Delmar to pursue the two suspects.

During this episode, Holt said, he dialed 911 and continued to relay the suspects’ location to the University City Police Department.

“We ran down there, and I made eye contact with one [of the suspects], and he looked at me and looked really frazzled,” Holt said. “He made wild eyes at me. He looked so angry, like he was about to hurt someone.”

The chase concluded on Delmar near the Tivoli Theatre, where police arrested the two assailants around 8:10 p.m., Holt and Belkin said. The suspects were identified because they had Tsai’s phone and wallet.

Tsai, whose face was bruised, arrived and identified the suspects by their faces. The entire ordeal ended by 8:20 p.m.

UCPD would not comment on or confirm the robbery.

Holt, whose actions helped catch the two suspects, said he was trying to help his friends.

“I’ve never heard they actually caught the person who did it, and I saw the two guys there and thought I’d see if I could follow these guys and just help out,” Holt said.

Belkin and Holt were not injured.

Belkin blamed poor lighting and not enough emergency blue lights for some of the events of the night.

“I couldn’t find a blue light, and I couldn’t find security patrol,” Belkin said. The lighting is bad: They came out of the shadows, and they were wearing dark clothes. We’re so close to campus it’s ridiculous.”