The Indiana University Police Department says it will expand its usual patrol grid to include areas two-to-three blocks off campus.
The announcement, which comes after an off-campus attack on three students early Sunday morning, was published Thursday on the university's "Safety Matters" blog. The university police will patrol these blocks in tandem with the Bloomington police.
The IUPD occasionally patrols these blocks, the blog says.
Three men from the Indianapolis area were charged Wednesday in connection to the attack.
Vaylen Glazebrook, 19, and Michael Deweese, 19, each face seven charges of rape, three counts of criminal confinement, two counts of armed robbery, one count of attempted murder, one count of burglary with a deadly weapon and one count of resisting law enforcement.
A third suspect, Jesse Benti-Torres, 19, is charged with two counts of assisting a criminal and one count of burglary with a deadly weapon.
Bloomington police arrested Glazebrook, Deweese and Benti-Torres after they were called to the scene a possible rape in the 500 block of E. 12th Street. A 22-year-old woman called 911 and said she could hear one roommate screaming and thought someone might be raping the woman.
Police say two 24-year-old Indiana University students were sexually assaulted at gunpoint by two men who forced their way inside the apartment.
When an officer arrived at the scene, he noticed the front door was open and saw a man inside, pulling his pants up. The officer identified himself and then heard a shot ring out from inside the apartment. He took cover and saw two men fleeing out a window. Police say one of the suspects fired at the officer, so the officer returned fire.
He hit Glazebrook in the arm. Deweese was shot in the leg.
The officer continued pursuing the suspects and found Glazebrook in a nearby alley. Deweese was found in a parked car nearby and was taken into custody. Benti-Torres was driving the car and was also arrested.
Glazebrook and Deweese were treated for their injuries at a Bloomington hospital before being transported to the Monroe County Jail.
At a press conference Monday morning, Bloomington Police Chief Michael Diekhoff said the suspects told police they came to town to party.
"I think these three gentlemen probably were here just to do something bad," Diekhoff said. "We had indications that there might have been a robbery attempt prior to that at a convenience store. It did not take place. So we don't know if they were down here and set on doing something and were just going through neighborhoods."
Diekoff said the sexual assault is different from those the Bloomington Police Department typically deals with because it was random and violent. He said the suspects also took some items from the apartment, which police found on the front porch.
Police said they routinely work with Indiana University on sexual assault and rape prevention efforts.
"Clearly I think our efforts in this are making sure that people know what safety precautions to take," Diekhoff said. "We worked with the university in the past on these types of programs, making sure that students know what they should do is extremely important. So, we will work with them to do whatever we can to make sure that information gets out and that the students are safe, that they know what is safe."
IU has been making efforts to curb sexual violence on its campuses, in line with a White House effort to do the same on college campuses across the nation.
This week, the university is sending out a survey to students on its Bloomington campus, asking questions about perceptions of sexual violence in general and at IU Bloomington.
IU Spokesman Mark Land said the university didn't send an IU Alert out about the crime because the suspects were caught so quickly. He said the purpose of the emergency notification system isn't "just to let people know something bad is happening." He said the university only alerts members of the campus community when there is an imminent threat and they need to take precautions.
