A freshman student was assaulted in the Bell Street parking lot behind Lyon Hall on Tuesday night.
After parking, the victim was approached from behind. The assailant was said to have grabbed her around the waist and covered her mouth, according to a police report.
“I’ve been watching you for a while,” the assailant allegedly said, according the the report. “I’ll be back for you.”
The suspect is described as being a tall and skinny African-American, wearing dark athletic clothes with a black vinyl mask. The victim added that the suspect was a few years older than her and had a deep, raspy voice. The suspect was then said to have fled the scene.
After the incident, the victim called her parents, who then notified campus police. The victim then called her brother, another freshman, who was off campus at the time.
“I had never let her walk anywhere on campus by herself,” he said. “The first night I left her here, this happened.”
Her brother called a friend who was on campus to stay with the victim. When the friend arrived in the parking lot, campus police were with the victim, attempting to identify a suspect. When she could not positively identify her attacker, police could only offer literature and advice on self-protection in the event that the situation happened again.
The victim withdrew from school the next morning.
“She just didn’t feel comfortable on campus anymore,” her brother said.
She is one of three reports filed in the past week regarding female students reporting they were being followed or felt threatened by another student on campus.
MTSU Sidelines does not name the victims of assault cases.
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