A black male attempted to rob another male on the second floor of the Church Street parking structure Thursday afternoon, according to a Department of Public Safety crime alert.

The victim was approached in the parking structure around 4:50 p.m. by the suspect, who was described as being 18 to 23 years old, standing six-foot-four and wearing a hat, black skull cap, diamond earrings, a long-sleeve white shirt and dark jeans.

The suspect claimed to have a gun and asked the victim for his money but then walked away.

Nothing was stolen and no gun was seen, according to police reports. There was also no physical altercation and the victim was not harmed, DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown said.

Normally, if a victim is approached by a suspect claiming to have a gun, the victim should comply with the suspect's requests, Brown said.

"One would believe that you can always replace property, but if you made the person mad and they chose to shoot you, it would be much more difficult to heal from an injury. You can always replace money," she said, adding that most criminals with guns are not looking to injure anybody.

"Unless they are hardened criminals, they are usually just looking for money or something to feed their drug habit," she added.

Brown said she could not comment about why the suspect walked away without taking anything.

"It's a very odd situation," she added.

She could not comment about whether the altercation involved drugs but said that to her knowledge, the victim and suspect did not know each other.

This is not the first robbery to take place in the Church Street parking structure.

An armed robbery occurred there July 28, when two victims were robbed by two suspects, also on the structure's second level. One of the suspects possessed a handgun and they both fled on foot after the robbery.

Those suspects were described as being black males. One was about five-feet-ten, 19 to 20 years old, 160 pounds, wearing a red bandanna and a red shirt. The suspect carrying the handgun was described as being about six-foot-one, 19 to 20 years old and stocky. He was also wearing a black skull cap.

Brown said the victims and suspects in that robbery "had the potential to know each other."

It is unknown if the suspect from Thursday's incident is linked with any other recent incidents, Brown said, adding that Thursday's suspect is the only one described as being taller than 6-foot-2.

The structure is regularly patrolled by DPS officers, who go there to file their reports. Brown said DPS increased its monitoring of the structure after the last incident.

She said she believes parking structures are likely to attract criminals because they are seeking cars with unlocked doors or lowered windows.

"The car element often provides an opportunity for the criminal," Brown said. "Another safety tip is keeping your cars locked and windows up."

People with information about the crime are asked to call DPS at 763-1131.