Three men were arrested early yesterday morning after ripping a purse away from a female UW student in a parking lot near Terry-Lander Hall.

The student screamed for help as she was pushed to the ground by two of the men. University of Washington Police (UWPD) officers were in the area and rushed to the scene at about 1 a.m.

The two men entered a vehicle to escape the scene, but officers had already radioed for help, and a nearby patrol car arrived to stop the vehicle. Three men were arrested at the scene.

The student identified the arrested men, and the stolen purse was returned to her possession.

“We were lucky to have an officer in the right place at the right time,” UWPD Lt. Peter Celms said.

The men were taken to a King County jail and are under investigation for several recent crimes, including another robbery and a stabbing. Both of these crimes also occurred in the U-District.

Witnesses from the dorms heard the student’s screams.

“I figured it was just people messing around outside, but then I heard tires screeching outside,” said Frieda Elliot, a freshman resident of Lander Hall.

Elliot, whose room overlooks the parking lot where the crime happened, watched as the UWPD officers spoke to the student who had been robbed.

Although Elliot was concerned that a crime could happen so close to campus, she also surrendered some of her insecurity to the nature of her environment.

“It’s kind of scary that someone could do that so close to where you live, but it’s a caution you have to deal with in the city,” she said.