Close to 12:20 a.m. Wednesday morning a female student was allegedly attacked from behind outside Coles Tower. According to Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols, the student was near the Bowdoin Shuttle stop on the Coles Tower circle, walking back from an academic building when she was assaulted. The victim was not seriously injured nor was anything stolen from her.
Nichols said the alleged victim heard running footsteps behind her as she neared the shuttle stop, with a noticeable change in "cadence" before the attacker leapt on her.
"She described it almost as a piggyback motion," Nichols said. "Left arm came around her throat against her carotid artery, restricting bloodflow. Right arm came across the abdomen. She was pulled backward and downward."
Nichols said the assaulted student was then brought down into close to a sitting position on the ground, and the perpetrator used his legs to restrict movement further. The victim then lost consciousness and, according to Nichols, roused shortly thereafter to find her assailant fleeing up Tower Drive back toward campus. At some point during the attack, the female student's right earring was torn off. Only minor injuries to the neck were sustained and her jeans were torn at the right knee.
Nichols said the attacked student headed toward Coles Tower right away, leaving the tote bag she had been carrying behind. She found a male student in the lobby who escorted her back out to retrieve her belongings, after which she called Security.
Security arrived within a minute, Nichols said, though it was roughly 10 minutes after the perpetrator had fled. Security immediately called the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) whom arrived shortly thereafter and called in a canine unit from Bath.
Nichols said the canine, named Kaylo, did find a trail but, ultimately, it did not lead to anything. Officer John Roma was a initial officer on the scene. Calls placed to Roma and Commander Marc Hagan were not immediately returned.
Nichols described the suspect as being under six feet tall, with dark and fairly wavy hair, wearing a dark sweatshirt or jacket of some kind with a large white "B" on the back. The man's age was described as "college-aged," or around 19 to 22, with an athletic—though not thick—build. Nichols would not speculate as to whether the assailant was a student or not, and said the ongoing investigations were looking into the possibility. The Orient was unable to confirm the victim's identity before the publishing of this article.
Caitlin McCarty '11, a tower resident, said she was returning from Joshua's Tavern before 1 a.m. Wednesday morning when she saw several police vehicles outside.
"They asked us to walk around to the other side [of the tower]," McCarty said. "They said they couldn't tell us what happened, but everyone was fine." McCarty said she saw two girls in the lobby that appeared upset when she arrived.
Schuyler Ransohoff '11 recounted a similar story and said police cars were still outside the tower when he went to bed close to 2 a.m.
Nichols made a strong appeal to potential witnesses who may have been in the area.
"We're encouraging people to really think that were out and about that night," Nichols said. "Any small item could be really helpful."