A former Notre Dame linebacker interrupted a violent robbery at a Manhattan hotel, rescuing the victim but unable to pursue the thief because he was naked.

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"I wish I could have done more," Tom Reynolds told the New York Daily News. "But I thought if I chased him, I'd get arrested for indecent exposure."

Investigators believe the man who attacked and pistol-whipped Lori Llevano outside her room Thursday at the Roosevelt Hotel also robbed an Atlanta family at the Millenium Hilton last week, leaving a couple and their 8-year-old daughter tied up.

Reynolds, a retired University of Texas marketing professor in Manhattan for a conference, was asleep in his room at the Roosevelt when he heard Llevano screaming. Without worrying about his state of undress, Reynolds dashed out into the hall and hit the robber with his fist.