University of Virginia officials called a news conference Wednesday to warn students of three attacks that have occurred near campus in the last month.
The first occurred early Sept. 17, according to officials. A student went out, made it home and was found on her porch, said Lt. Ronnie Roberts of the Charlottesville police. The woman wasn’t sure whether she had been sexually assaulted, and police are investigating, Roberts said.
Dean of Students Allen W. Groves described her as banging on the door of her house with blood and vomit on her, and wrote in a message to students that she was assaulted near Chancellor Street.
The second event was an assault that happened at 1:30 a.m. Sept. 18 behind the Bank of America building on the Corner.
A gay man, a UVa student, told university officials he was the victim of an attack based on his sexual orientation when he was punched in the neck, Groves said.
He didn’t know his attackers, and they didn’t say anything to indicate the attack was motivated by prejudice, officials said. The student, however, was certain that was the motivation, though university officials refused to say how he knew.
The incident has not been reported to Charlottesville police, Roberts said.
In the third incident, university officials believe a man attempted to sexually assault a woman at a fraternity party just after midnight on Sept. 19, though they don’t know where or to whom it happened.
An anonymous woman, who identified herself as a student’s mother, alerted officials to the situation. As of the conference, the woman had not spoken about the incident to university officials.
According to the account officials gave, they believe the woman was pushed into a pantry, but her screams brought help before she could be assaulted.
Graves said he was disturbed by what he called the brazen nature of the attacks, and noted that he was alerting the student body only days after the university’s Day of Dialogue, which was aimed at curbing violence.
Officials reminded students that they should be alert and aware and not leave drunken people in situations where they could get into trouble.
Lt. Melissa Fielding of the UVa police urged students to trust their instincts and call police even if a situation isn’t a dire emergency.
“Our first priority is their health and safety,” she said.
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