Robbery Reported at Taco Bell Near USC; DPS Issues Alert

A robbery at the Taco Bell at 2722 Figueroa Street, adjacent to the USC campus, left a student temporarily without her purse and prompted a USC Department of Public Safety (DPS) alert issued Feb. 20, 2026. The DPS bulletin lists the incident as Report Number 2600633 and places the time of occurrence at 02/19/2026 7:50 PM.

The DPS incident narrative records the encounter in plain detail: “The victim, a student, was inside the Taco Bell. She stepped away from her table momentarily to put some items in the trash. When she returned to her table, her purse, which had been on her seat had been taken.” The bulletin says restaurant employees assisted in identifying the suspect as another patron.

The bulletin continues with the on-scene sequence: “The victim confronted the suspect, and he ran out of the restaurant. The victim chased the suspect and he pushed her away. A passerby followed the suspect and recovered the victim’s purse a short distance away.” DPS does not list any injuries or medical treatment beyond the notation that the suspect pushed the victim.

DPS supplied a suspect description drawn from the reporting party with several unknown fields left intact: Age 25-30 years old; Sex: Male; Race: Black; Eye Color: Unknown; Hair Color: Unknown; Height: Unknown; Weight: Unknown. The bulletin adds an additional description: the suspect was wearing a dark jacket, dark jeans and carrying a dark backpack. Weapon: None. The bulletin also emphasizes that employees identified the suspect as another restaurant patron.

Property recovery is noted but not itemized. The purse was recovered a short distance from the restaurant by a passerby, and the bulletin provides no further details about the purse contents, damage, or whether items were missing.

The DPS alert includes emergency and follow-up contact instructions verbatim: “If you are in immediate DANGER, call the Los Angeles Police Department at 911 or the USC Department of Public Safety at (213) 740-4321.” For questions or information relevant to the alert, DPS directed people to “immediately call DPS at (213) 740-6000 for the University Park Campus (UPC), (323) 442-1000 for the Health Sciences Campus (HSC) or (213) 485-6571 for the LAPD Southwest Division.”

The bulletin closes with the department’s procedural note: “Please note that race, ethnicity, gender and/or religious affiliation are NOT considered the basis for suspicion; only behaviors are considered suspicious.” It also states the purpose of the notice: “The purpose of this warning is to aid in the prevention of similar crimes by alerting the community about the incident and to provide information which allows individuals to make informed decisions about their personal safety.” The captured page header included a heading for “USC Department of Public Safety Recommendations – Robbery,” but the specific recommendation items were not included in the captured bulletin. The alert does not state any arrests, LAPD response details, CCTV availability, or the current investigative status for report 2600633.