Two aggravated assaults in the South Campus area late Wednesday, both classified by police as hate crimes, prompted a public safety notice Thursday. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Former Managing Editor for Multimedia
Update Sept. 5: University Police arrested two suspects who have been charged with felony assault and assault, according to a Saturday press release.
Two aggravated assaults in the South Campus area late Wednesday, both classified by police as hate crimes, prompted a public safety notice Thursday.
In the first assault at 12th Avenue and College Road, a white, male Ohio State student said he was called a racial slur by a Black man, who subsequently ran from across High Street and punched him in the face, according to the notice. A university spokesperson confirmed the victim was white.
Officers responding to reports of the incident were approached at the scene by two other Ohio State students, a white man and a woman, who said they were also attacked. A university spokesperson confirmed the pair was white.
The students said they were approached by a Black female near Chittenden Avenue in a new Honda sedan who yelled the same slur, according to the report.
They continued walking but reencountered the same vehicle near the Ohio Union on 12th Avenue, where they were physically assaulted by the driver and a man on foot, believed to be the man who committed the first assault, the notice stated.
The two students ran to the Ohio Union and called for help, according to the notice. Neither reported injuries.
Correction: The first assault took place at 12th Avenue and College Road not 12th and College avenues.
