Two nineteen-year-old male resident students were hospitalized early Saturday morning after the second assault on campus in less than a week.
A press release by the University Police Department said students walking along Granite Avenue at about 1:30 a.m., near the Jolly Giant Commons, encountered a dark colored BMW sedan speeding up and down the road. One member of the group yelled at the car to slow down. The car stopped and two occupants got out. They attacked two members of the group with their fists and feet, leaving one student unconscious with head injuries and another with a split chin. Witnesses say the assailants drove away from the scene just before police arrived, and no weapons were reported.
The injured students were briefly admitted to Mad River Community Hospital, and were released Saturday morning. The hospital declined to comment on the condition of the patients. Two female students, aged 20 and 21, were also shoved in the incident but were not seriously hurt.
UPD Chief Thomas Dewey said the investigation is still under way, and that they expect to file charges with the District Attorney before long. UPD has not named the suspects, but described the ‘persons of interest’ as a white male and a Polynesian male. They are from another part of the county, and were reportedly on campus to pick up an associate from a party. The injuries they inflicted were so serious that police are considering the attack a felony.
Police arriving at the scene observed a car fitting the description described by witnesses. They did not stop the car, because at that time they weren’t aware of its involvement in the attack. However, officers did recognize one or more occupants of that car. Dewey could not say whether either of the suspects have a prior record, although he said, “Our officers pay attention to faces, they pay attention to names.”
The police do not think that the attack was in any way related to the assault near the Art Building on Valentine’s Day, in which a male student was attacked by four or five men early in the morning hanging out around the south end of the Art-Music fire lane.
Dewey said, “Statistically, crimes by strangers on this campus are extremely rare.” He could not provide exact numbers but said that he believes there is typically an attack on campus committed by a stranger every one or two years. He said that these attacks are usually of a sexual nature, and that this is the first time in recent memory he could remember that a student was beaten by strangers.
UPD can be reached 24 hours a day at (707) 826-5555. Any information about the case will be accepted anonymously by phone or email to hsupd@humboldt.edu.
2 comments
no not really. you weren't there.