DePaul student shot as he tried to run from robbers near Lincoln Park campus

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A DePaul University student was shot in the leg Monday night as he tried to run away from would-be robbers near the school's Lincoln Park campus, Chicago police said.

The 18-year-old student told police he was walking along North Sheffield Avenue near a 7-Eleven on North Lincoln Avenue around 11:45 p.m. when two men with a gun tried to rob him. Police said when he took off running, he was shot in the leg. The student drove himself to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. His injuries were not life-threatening, the university said in an alert. No one was in custody Tuesday.

This is the fourth time a DePaul student has been victimized near the school's Lincoln Park campus in the last three months. Most of the incidents were armed robberies.

"I'm pretty concerned. This is where I spend most of my time. I don't like that it's happening," said student Grace Melon.

The shooting took place off-campus, but university officials said their public safety officers are on heightened alert as a result. University officials also noted that emergency call boxes are located around campus, and students leaving at night can request the university's free escort service.

According to the safety alert section of DePaul's website, three students were robbed at gunpoint were reported near the Lincoln Park campus in the first three months of 2017.

Around 3 p.m. March 1, a student was robbed of his cellphone by two males with a gun in the 2200-block of North Halsted Street. Around 3 a.m. Jan. 27, another student was robbed at gunpoint in the 1200-block of West Fullerton Avenue. Around 2:30 p.m. Jan. 18, a student was robbed by an armed suspect near North Seminary and West Montana avenues.

Nicole Herzog, a DePaul student, said she moved to the suburbs because of crime.

"I was living downtown and we've been seeing a lot of crime at the DePaul Loop campus and Lincoln Park campus," Herzog said.

Student Melanie Wong said she walks in a group heading to and from her night classes and tries to take as many morning classes as possible.

"Sometimes when I'm walking from class to class at night. Sometimes when I take classes in the evening I get a little worried. I just have to keep looking behind my back just in case," Wong said.