CHICAGO (STMW) — Police have issued alerts after two UIC students were robbed at gunpoint — and one beaten — in the last three days on the West Side.

About 12:50 a.m. Sunday, a University of Illinois at Chicago student was walking on Racine Avenue just south of Taylor Street when he “accepted a ride from a stranger,” UIC Police spokesman Bill Burton said.

One of the people in the the car then displayed a gun and stole the victim’s laptop, iPhone and credit cards, according to the alert. The victim, released without injury, flagged down a Chicago Police car in the 1100 block of South Throop Street.

The alert initially said the student was abducted, but Burton said he “entered the car voluntarily.”

And about 9:55 p.m. Monday, a UIC student was robbed and battered in the alley behind the 700 block of South Western Avenue, several blocks from the school’s West Campus.

The student was returning home through the alley when a lone offender approached and threatened the victim with a handgun, the alert said. The suspect took money and a cell phone, then struck the victim in the face with his weapon before running away.

The victim suffered minor blunt-force trauma and lacerations, but declined medical treatment.

The UIC Police/CPD Joint Robbery Task Force is investigating both incidents.

In the first, the offenders were described as black males between age 20 and 26, the alert said. One was 6-foot-3 with short hair, wearing a dark hoodie and armed with a small, black and silver semiautomatic handgun. The second was 5-foot-4 with black hair in long dreadlocks. No further description was given for the driver. Their vehicle was newer-looking, white, four-door Chevrolet Impala with a partial Illinois license plate “A3.”

The offender in the second incident was described as a black male 28 to 33, 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10, clean-shaven with a medium complexion and black hair, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, dark blue jeans, and armed with a black handgun.

Anyone with information on either of the cases should call UIC Police at (312) 996-2830.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)