A group of four unarmed men attacked and robbed a Harvard student in front of Wigglesworth Hall early Sunday morning, Harvard police said yesterday.

According to police records, the group of four white males approached the student shortly after 1 a.m. The student told police that the four punched and kicked him and then stole his $200 brown leather jacket and a wallet containing $5 in cash.

Harvard Police Chief Paul E. Johnson said the student was "walking with his head down when the attack occurred," and could not identify his assailants.

Police reported that the student declined to go to University Health Services for treatment after the attack.

According to Johnson, the officer who responded to the call said he saw a group of four white men running down Linden St. shortly after the robbery occurred, but before arriving at the scene of the attack. He said that police believed the four were responsible for the attack.

Johnson said he did not believe that the crime was part of a pattern.

"This is sort of unusual," Johnson said. "It happens once in a while but I wouldn't say it's part of a pattern. It's just a crime of opportunity with a bunch of kids out looking for trouble."