Police investigating possible ‘bias-motivated’ crime at UVa

A University of Virginia student and a visiting friend were violently assaulted April 4 in what UVa officials are describing as a “bias-motivated crime.”

The student and his guest were attacked without warning at around 3 a.m. by five males who uttered several homophobic slurs, according to a statement sent out late Friday to the university community by UVa Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Allen W. Groves.

“Based upon the facts as we currently know them, we believe this to be a bias-motivated crime, in that the perceived sexual orientation of the two victims appears to have motivated the assault,” Groves said in the statement.

No arrests have yet been made in the incident, though the UVa Police Department is investigating, said Lt. Melissa Fielding.

“It’s an open, active investigation,” she said. “We would encourage anyone with information about this incident to call Crime Stoppers or University Police.”

Crime Stoppers can be reached at 977-4000 and UVa Police are at 924-7166.

The Charlottesville Police Department originally investigated the case, until the victim visited the crime scene with investigators and they realized that it took place on UVa’s campus. UVa Police then took over the investigation and the campus alert was sent out.

This article was edited to correct the headline.