Multiple assaults concern students

Four students were assaulted early Sunday morning in three separate incidents on Central Campus, according to Department of Public Safety reports. Another student who has not filed a police report and wishes to remain anonymous also was attacked.

Ann Arbor Police Department Training Officer David Woodside said police believe a group of five or six young men committed the assaults.

"They were looking to pick fights," Woodside said.

DPS received the first call at 1:34 a.m. when a witness reported that two victims were being attacked at the intersection of Liberty and South State streets. Officers were dispatched to the scene and the victims told DPS that six high school-aged males hit them with beer bottles.

The assailants, who were wearing baggy pants and baseball caps turned backwards, fled the scene before officers arrived.

Other assaults took place at the Student Publications Building and near the Fleming Administration Building. Witnesses said that between two and six assailants participated in each incident.

Students expressed fear and shock when learning of the assaults, but most said Saturday's incidents would not prevent them from going out at night on the weekends.

The assaults "scare me," said LSA senior Adarsh Pandit. "I can't say that I'm not going to go out anymore, but these (assaults) would make me a little more (concerned) about where and when I go out, and with whom."

LSA senior Amanda Barkey said the assaults are disconcerting, but that she feels safe at night because she usually goes out in large groups.

"I'll still go to the bar, but (the assault) definitely is something to think about," Barkey said.

DPS Captain Jim Smiley said no one has yet been apprehended in the incidents. He said that the victims' descriptions of the assailants were not thorough enough to identify the suspects.

The suspects "are still out there and no one has come forward to tell us who they are," Smiley said.

Smiley said he does not believe last weekend's events mark the beginning of a trend. But he said DPS will increase the number of patrols in the area where the attacks took place.

"We figure this was a random hit rather than the start of a series of occurrences," Smiley said. "We'll heighten patrols in that area at least for this (upcoming) weekend."

Four of the victims reported minor physical injuries, and DPS reported that one victim needed hospitalization after being found incoherent and intoxicated near the Fleming Administration Building.

The assaults occurred around 2 a.m. Sunday morning - the same time Scorekeepers and other area bars close. Tom Haywood, executive director of the State Street Area Association, an association that represents the interests of area businesses, said more police presence in recent years has helped deter fights that may occur as people leave local bars.

"Merchants here are pleased with what the city has done in the past three years to increase police presence downtown," Haywood said. "But you can't make sure people are protected 100 percent of the time."

02-24-98