3 IU students assaulted with sharp-edged weapon

Police say three students were assaulted with a sharp-edged weapon at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday as they walked on 17th Street near Woodlawn Avenue toward their residence halls.

The suspect gave two of the females superficial cuts on their faces and gave one 18-year-old male a four-inch cut to the neck, according to an IU Police Department press release.

Police believe the suspect approached the group of two males and three females from behind, wielding an unidentified sharp-edged object.

The male student was taken to Bloomington Hospital where he was released at about 4:15 a.m., said IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger.

Minger said the male victim is of East Indian decent, but he didn’t feel his ethnicity had anything to do with the incident.

“Because he was of East Indian decent, we did extra patrols where international students congregate just as a precaution,” Minger said.

The two females left the scene before police arrived but were contacted at their dorms and said they did not need medical treatment.

“Currently, there’s no motive for why this person would have done this,” Minger said.

IUPD and the Indiana State Police scoured the area for the suspect with no results. The victims and witnesses will be re-interviewed by IUPD to try and find more clues about the suspect. The names of the victims aren’t being released for safety reasons because the motive and attacker are unknown, Minger said.

"We've received several calls, one in particular said they saw someone running away from the general direction at that time," Minger said.

“We’re doing all we can,” said IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre.

A cautionary e-mail and text message were sent to students at 5 a.m. today warning students about the situation. MacIntyre said letting students know about the problem and telling them to be careful is one of the “most important” things the University can do at this time.

“That and trying to help catch this person is about all we can do. We’ve certainly made everyone aware of the situation and everyone should be careful,” he said.

The suspect was described as an 18 to 20-year-old slim, white male suspect, between 5 feet 6 and 6 feet 2 inches tall. He was described as wearing jeans, a yellow T-shirt and a white hooded sweatshirt at the time of the incident.

IUPD will be reinterviewing the victims and witnesses this week.

If anyone has information about the identity of the suspect or regarding this incident, IUPD asks that they call 855-4111 and ask to speak to an investigator.