Campus Alert Archive
SF State

Daylight phone robbery at a bus stop in front of campus; timely warning issued

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Under Investigation

On the morning of November 9, 2019, a person waiting for a bus at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue, directly in front of San Francisco State University's HSS Building, had his cell phone forcibly taken from his hands as he was texting, then watched the suspect run onto campus. The SF State University Police Department issued a Clery timely warning describing the robbery, the suspect, and his flight route across the campus. No weapon was seen, and the suspect was not apprehended.

Alerts
1
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
San Francisco State University
Public Masters · CA
All SF State cases →
~27,000 studentsSF State University Police Timely Warning
Official alert policy
Read when and how SF State says it will use SF State Alert: summarized, quoted, and analyzed.
Documented Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Confirmed wording is transcribed character-for-character from a primary source. Use Verify this quote under each message to open that source in a new tab and compare the text yourself.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Verified verbatim773 chars
On 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM, a robbery occurred at the bus stop located at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building. The victim reported that at approximately 10:15 AM while he was waiting for the bus, an unknown suspect approached him and forcibly took his cell phone from his hands as he was texting. The suspect then ran southbound on 19th Avenue then turned and ran westbound between the HSS Building and the Science Building onto the SFSU campus. The victim and witness described the suspect as male adult wearing a grey jacket and grey pants. No weapons were seen or mentioned during the robbery. UPD has increased patrols in the area in response to the incident and encourages SF State community members to remain alert and observant.
Verify this quote
SF State University Police Department, Archived Timely Warnings - 2019upd.sfsu.edufind archived copies
Text recovered from the SF State UPD official 2019 timely-warning archive page; the host 403-blocks automated fetching, so the wording was confirmed via repeated, identical search-engine excerpts of that official page rather than a direct page load
The warning distinguishes the report time (approximately 10:40 AM PST) from the victim's stated time of the crime (approximately 10:15 AM PST), a careful Clery-compliant separation of when the incident occurred versus when it was reported
Despite a snatch-and-grab of a phone from the victim's hands, UPD correctly classified the incident as a robbery (a Clery-reportable crime requiring a timely warning) rather than a theft, because force was used to take the property
Message elements

How the first alert is built

To check this alert, Claude (an AI) read it in full 25 separate times, independently. Each read decided whether the message answers each of the six questions and gave a short reason. A final reviewer then weighed all 25 and wrote the plain-English verdict you see when you open a row. The score (for example 22/25) is how many reads agreed; the 25 individual reads are tucked underneath if you want to check them.

On 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM, a robbery occurred at the bus stop located at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building. The victim reported that at approximately 10:15 AM while he was waiting for the bus, an unknown suspect approached him and forcibly took his cell phone from his hands as he was texting. The suspect then ran southbound on 19th Avenue then turned and ran westbound between the HSS Building and the Science Building onto the SFSU campus. The victim and witness described the suspect as male adult wearing a grey jacket and grey pants. No weapons were seen or mentioned during the robbery. UPD has increased patrols in the area in response to the incident and encourages SF State community members to remain alert and observant.

  • Sourcepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    All reads agree present: it names UPD, the University Police Department, as the responding authority increasing patrols.

    Who is sending the alert and who is responding. People act faster on a message from a clearly identifiable, credible sender, such as a named department, the police, or a branded alert system, than on an anonymous notice. A branded signature counts.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Names UPD, the responding authority, in the text.
    2. present: It names UPD, the university police department, as taking action, identifying the authority.
    3. present: Names UPD as the issuing authority responding to the incident.
    4. present: It names UPD, the university police, as the responding authority.
    5. present: It references UPD, the police, as the issuing authority.
    6. present: Names UPD, the university police, as responding authority.
    7. present: Names UPD as responding authority and SF State community.
    8. present: Names the issuing authority: UPD, the University Police Department.
    9. present: It names UPD, the university police department, as responding authority.
    10. present: It names UPD, the University Police Department, as responding to the incident.
    11. present: It references UPD increasing patrols, naming the issuing police authority.
    12. present: References UPD, the university police, as responding agency.
    13. present: Names UPD, the university police, as responding to the incident.
    14. present: It names UPD, the university police, as the responding authority.
    15. present: Identifies UPD, the police, as responding authority.
    16. present: Names "University Police Department" and "UPD" as the responding authority.
    17. present: It names UPD as the responding authority increasing patrols.
    18. present: It names UPD, the University Police, as responding to the incident.
    19. present: It names UPD, the university police, as acting on the incident.
    20. present: It names UPD, the university police department, as responding authority.
    21. present: It names UPD, the campus police department, as acting and the source.
    22. present: It names UPD and references SF State community, identifying the source.
    23. present: It names UPD, the police authority, in the response sentence.
    24. present: It names UPD as the responding authority increasing patrols.
    25. present: Names UPD as the responding authority that increased patrols.
  • Hazardpresent25/25

    Final assessment

    All reads agree present: it describes a robbery in which a suspect forcibly took a cell phone, a specific threat.

    What the threat actually is. A complete warning names the specific danger, such as a shooter, a fire, a tornado, or a gas leak, rather than a vague emergency, because people decide what to do based on what they are facing.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Names the hazard, a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a cell phone.
    2. present: It names a robbery in which a phone was forcibly taken, a specific threat.
    3. present: Names a robbery where a phone was forcibly taken.
    4. present: It names a specific threat: a robbery where a phone was forcibly taken.
    5. present: It names a robbery, a specific threat.
    6. present: Names a robbery in which a phone was forcibly taken, a specific threat.
    7. present: Names a robbery where a phone was forcibly taken, a specific threat.
    8. present: Names the threat: a robbery in which a suspect forcibly took a cell phone.
    9. present: It describes a robbery where a phone was forcibly taken, a specific threat.
    10. present: It names a specific threat, a robbery where a phone was forcibly taken.
    11. present: It names a robbery, a specific threat.
    12. present: Names a specific threat: a robbery where the phone was forcibly taken.
    13. present: Names a specific threat: a robbery in which a phone was forcibly taken.
    14. present: It names a specific threat: a robbery and forcible phone theft.
    15. present: Names a specific threat, a robbery where a phone was forcibly taken.
    16. present: Names "a robbery," a specific threat.
    17. present: It names a specific threat: a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a cell phone.
    18. present: It names a robbery in which a phone was forcibly taken, a specific threat.
    19. present: It describes a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a cell phone, a specific threat.
    20. present: It describes a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a cell phone, a specific threat.
    21. present: It names a robbery where a phone was forcibly taken, a specific threat.
    22. present: It states a robbery occurred where a phone was forcibly taken, a specific threat.
    23. present: It states a robbery occurred, a specific threat.
    24. present: It names a specific threat, a robbery in which a phone was forcibly taken.
    25. present: Names a specific threat: a robbery in which a phone was forcibly taken.
  • Locationpresent25/25

    Final assessment

    All reads agree present: it gives a specific place, the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building.

    Where the threat is. Saying whether danger is in a specific building, a part of campus, or area-wide lets people judge their own proximity and choose a safe direction. Without a where, a warning is hard to act on precisely.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Gives a location, the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building.
    2. present: It gives a specific place, the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue.
    3. present: Says bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building.
    4. present: It gives a place: the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue.
    5. present: It says the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building.
    6. present: Specifies 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building.
    7. present: Gives location at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building.
    8. present: Gives a location: the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building.
    9. present: It names a place: the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway in front of the HSS Building.
    10. present: It locates it at the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway in front of the HSS Building.
    11. present: It locates it at the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building.
    12. present: Specifies the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue by the HSS Building.
    13. present: States the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building.
    14. present: It gives a location, the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue.
    15. present: Gives location, the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue.
    16. present: Says "bus stop located at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue," a specific place.
    17. present: It gives a location: the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue by the HSS Building.
    18. present: It locates the robbery at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building.
    19. present: It says the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue by the HSS Building.
    20. present: It locates the robbery at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building.
    21. present: It locates it at the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue by the HSS Building.
    22. present: It says 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building, specific places.
    23. present: It says the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway, a specific place.
    24. present: It gives a location, the bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of the HSS Building.
    25. present: Gives a place: bus stop at 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue in front of HSS Building.
  • Guidancepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    All reads agree present: it encourages community members to remain alert and observant, a protective instruction.

    The protective action to take. A clear, specific instruction, such as shelter in place, evacuate, avoid the area, or run-hide-fight, drives faster and more correct protective behavior than describing the threat alone.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Encourages community members to remain alert and observant, a protective instruction.
    2. present: It encourages community members to remain alert and observant, an instruction to recipients.
    3. present: Encourages community members to remain alert and observant.
    4. present: It encourages community members to remain alert and observant, a protective instruction.
    5. present: It encourages community members to remain alert and observant, an instruction to recipients.
    6. present: Encourages community members to remain alert and observant, an instruction to recipients.
    7. present: Encourages community members to remain alert and observant.
    8. present: Encourages community members to remain alert and observant, a protective instruction.
    9. present: It encourages community members to remain alert and observant, an instruction to recipients.
    10. present: It tells community members to remain alert and observant, a protective instruction.
    11. present: It encourages community members to remain alert and observant, a protective instruction.
    12. present: Encourages community members to remain alert and observant, a protective instruction.
    13. present: Encourages community members to remain alert and observant, a protective instruction.
    14. present: It instructs community members to remain alert and observant, a protective action.
    15. present: Encourages community members to remain alert and observant, an instruction to recipients.
    16. present: Instructs community members to "remain alert and observant," a protective action.
    17. present: It encourages community members to remain alert and observant, a protective instruction.
    18. present: It encourages community members to remain alert and observant, a protective instruction.
    19. present: It encourages community members to remain alert and observant, a protective instruction.
    20. present: It encourages community members to remain alert and observant, a protective instruction.
    21. present: It encourages community members to remain alert and observant, a recipient instruction.
    22. present: It encourages community members to remain alert and observant, an instruction to recipients.
    23. present: It encourages community members to remain alert and observant, an instruction.
    24. present: It encourages community members to remain alert and observant, an instruction to recipients.
    25. present: Encourages community members to remain alert and observant, a protective instruction.
  • Timepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    All reads agree present: it states 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM, a clear date and time.

    When the message applies. A timestamp, the word now or immediately, or a phrase like until further notice tells the reader whether the danger is current and how quickly to act.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: States 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM, a clear date and time.
    2. present: It states a date and time, 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM.
    3. present: States 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM.
    4. present: It states 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM, a date and clock time.
    5. present: It gives a date and times, 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM and 10:15 AM.
    6. present: States 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM, a date and time.
    7. present: States 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM and 10:15 AM.
    8. present: States on 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM.
    9. present: It gives a date and times, 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM and 10:15 AM.
    10. present: It gives a date and clock time, 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM.
    11. present: It gives the date 11/09/2019 and times approximately 10:40 AM and 10:15 AM.
    12. present: States 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM.
    13. present: Gives a date and times, 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM and 10:15 AM.
    14. present: It gives a date and clock time, 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM.
    15. present: States the date 11/09/2019 and approximately 10:40 AM, giving date and clock time.
    16. present: States "11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM," a date and time.
    17. present: It states 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM, a date and clock time.
    18. present: It states 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM, a specific date and clock time.
    19. present: It gives a date and approximately 10:40 AM, clear time references.
    20. present: It states 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM, a date and time.
    21. present: It gives a date and times: 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM.
    22. present: It states 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM, a date and clock time.
    23. present: It states 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM, a date and time.
    24. present: It states a date and time, 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM.
    25. present: States date and times: 11/09/2019 at approximately 10:40 AM and 10:15 AM.
  • Impactpresent16/25

    Final assessment

    Present by majority (16 of 25); it describes a victim's phone forcibly taken in a robbery, a stated harm to a person, while dissenters note no weapon was seen and no injury beyond the theft.

    What the hazard could do to the people in its path. Beyond naming the threat, a complete warning conveys its potential consequences or severity, such as that a tornado can level buildings or that a leak could be explosive, so recipients grasp how much danger they are in. Research on warning message content finds that a concrete impact statement helps people personalize their risk and act sooner.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Reports a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a victim's phone, an explicit harm though no weapon was used.
    2. present: It describes a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a victim's phone, a stated harmful crime against a person.
    3. absent: It describes a past phone robbery with no weapons seen and no injury, and urges alertness without stating harm or danger.
    4. absent: It describes a phone robbery where no weapons were seen or mentioned and asks people to remain alert, conveying no significant stated harm or danger.
    5. absent: Describes a phone robbery with no weapons seen and instructs remaining alert, stating no harm beyond the theft itself.
    6. absent: Describes a phone snatch robbery and explicitly notes no weapons were seen, conveying no clear danger of physical harm.
    7. present: Describes a forcible phone robbery and notes no weapons were seen, conveying a stated crime harm to a victim.
    8. present: It reports a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a victim's phone and urges community members to remain alert, conveying a crime harm though no weapon was involved.
    9. present: Reports a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a victim's phone, conveying a stated harm to a person.
    10. present: It describes a robbery in which a suspect forcibly took a cell phone, a stated harm, though it notes no weapons were seen, and urges community members to remain alert.
    11. present: Reports a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a phone, a stated harmful crime, though it notes no weapons were seen.
    12. absent: It describes a phone robbery with no weapons seen and advises remaining alert without stating any injury or serious danger.
    13. present: Describes a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a victim's phone and notes no weapons were seen, a stated harm to a victim though minor.
    14. present: It reports a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a victim's phone, a stated harm, though no weapon was seen.
    15. absent: The text describes a phone snatched with no weapons seen and the suspect fleeing, stating no weapon or physical harm danger.
    16. present: Describes a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a phone from a victim, with the forcible taking conveying harm, though it notes no weapons were seen.
    17. present: It reports a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a victim's phone and urges members to remain alert, a stated crime.
    18. present: Describes a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a victim's phone, conveying a harmful crime that occurred though no weapon was seen.
    19. absent: Describes a phone robbery where no weapons were seen and urges remaining alert, conveying no stated danger of harm.
    20. present: Describes a robbery where a phone was forcibly taken and advises members to remain alert, conveying harm to a victim, though no weapon was seen.
    21. absent: Describes a phone robbery where no weapons were seen or mentioned and advises remaining alert, conveying no statement of serious harm or danger.
    22. absent: Describes a phone robbery with no weapons seen and advises remaining alert, with the text noting no weapons and no injury.
    23. present: It reports a victim had his phone forcibly taken in a robbery, conveying an actual crime harm, and urges community members to remain alert.
    24. present: States a robbery occurred where a suspect forcibly took a phone, a reported crime with force indicating harm though no weapon.
    25. present: It reports a robbery where a suspect forcibly took a victim's phone, a stated harm, though it notes no weapons were seen.

Systematic AI judgments with visible reasoning, not human-validated codings.

About this analysis
Context

Background

San Francisco State University is a large public master's-granting institution in the California State University system, with roughly 27,000 students on a campus wedged between 19th Avenue and the Stonestown / Park Merced district in southwest San Francisco. The 19th Avenue corridor and the bus stops feeding Muni and SamTrans riders are heavily trafficked by students and non-students alike, and have long been a recurring location for street robberies. On November 9, 2019, a man waiting at the 19th Avenue and Holloway Avenue bus stop in front of the HSS Building had his phone snatched from his hands as he texted; the suspect fled onto the SFSU campus itself, prompting a Clery timely warning from the SF State University Police Department. SF State's student newspaper, the Golden Gate Xpress, has documented a running pattern of armed and strong-arm robberies near the campus and the University Police practice of notifying the community by university-wide email. This case preserves the verbatim text of one such warning for a comparatively minor but Clery-reportable robbery, the kind of routine timely warning that rarely makes the news but defines the day-to-day texture of campus Clery compliance.
Analysis

Key Findings

A phone snatched directly from a victim's hands is a robbery, not a theft, under Clery because force was used, which is why SF State UPD issued a full timely warning for what might superficially look like a minor property crime
The warning carefully separates the report time (approximately 10:40 AM PST) from the victim's stated crime time (approximately 10:15 AM PST), modeling the Clery distinction between when an incident occurs and when it is reported
The suspect's flight path 'westbound between the HSS Building and the Science Building onto the SFSU campus' is the kind of specific, navigable detail that makes a timely warning actionable for readers who know the campus
Outcome
The suspect fled southbound on 19th Avenue, then westbound between the HSS Building and the Science Building onto the SFSU campus. University Police increased patrols in the area and asked anyone with information to call (415) 338-2222. No arrest was reported.
Provenance

Sources

Every claim on this page is meant to be checkable. Open the links below (and the Verify this quote control under each confirmed alert) to read the original university, news, or archive page yourself. Hostnames are shown so you can see where you are going; archived copies survive when live pages move or disappear. See also our methodology.

  1. Official
    Archived Timely Warnings - 2019 (SF State University Police Department)
    upd.sfsu.edu
    archived copy
  2. Official
    Timely Warnings (SF State University Police Department)
    upd.sfsu.edu
    archived copy
  3. Student Paper
    String of armed robberies near campus raises concerns (Golden Gate Xpress)
    goldengatexpress.org
    archived copy
Cite this case

Campus Alert Archive. "San Francisco State University: Daylight phone robbery at a bus stop in front of campus; timely warning issued." Incident of November 9, 2019. Added June 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/sfsu-bus-stop-phone-robbery-2019-11-09/

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Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.

Tags
robberytimely-warningcleryphone-theftbus-stoppublic-masterscaliforniacsusan-franciscodaylight-robberyUnder Investigation
Added June 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion