A female student was assaulted by three men while crossing Kudner Bridge, said Director of Public Safety Jerry Roderick.
Roderick said three assailants allegedly attacked her from behind, knocked her down, and got into a physical altercation with her.
Roderick said she used a defensive chemical agent to fend off the attack. Tipson said the student was worried enough about walking in that area that she had a can of mace.
“That and other tactics enabled her to break free of the assault,” said Roderick. Roderick said she then went to the hospital to get checked out as, “more of a precautionary measure.”
“At this point in time, I’m assuming the motive [of the attack] was robbery but I don’t have all the information to make a statement on that,” said Roderick.
After the attack, Roderick said the assailants fled back into the adjacent community.
Roderick said officers responded immediately to the assault and the Chestertown Police Department was alerted as well. He said the investigation is ongoing.
“Public Safety and the Chestertown Police are really on top of this investigation,” said President Baird Tipson. He said they were on the scene quickly and handled things very well.
“We are currently working with the Kent Bureau of Investigation, a joint task force from law enforcement in the area [on this case],” said Roderick. He said they have more resources to aid in the investigation.
“We have these people on the security camera,” said Tipson, and he added that investigators may be able to identify the assailants.
“I’m not sure what possessed them to think they could do this and get away with it,” said Tipson, since it happened during a busy night on campus and a lecture had just let out. He said some see college students as easy prey.
Roderick said the cameras are being reviewed and they are waiting to see where that takes the investigation.
Roderick said the area where the attack occurred has been reviewed several times, sometimes because of incidents, sometimes as a proactive measure, and they are looking about what should be done to the area. He said a more suitable footpath from Kent Crossing to campus would be expensive and Kent Crossing owns a portion of the land. Also, lighting it would be very expensive and there is not necessarily enough electricity on that side of campus to do that. He also said there are specific rules that must be followed when dealing with train tracks too, and that one cannot just run wires over them for phone lines for emergency phones.
“I think the railroad cut is an easy place for people to hide,” said Tipson. Though the school doesn’t own it, Tipson said the school is going to see if it can get permission to clear it.
Tipson said that WC put in a bid to buy the railroad, which runs in the ditch under the bridge. Chestertown chose to keep the property and do the “Rails to Trails” clean up itself, which is a campaign to turn old train tracks into trails around communities.
He said the town is mostly going to focus on developing the trail from high street to the Chester River. He said if the portion on campus were to be developed, there are issues about how students will get down to the trail, since it’s down a slope, and about properly lighting it.
“The sooner we get it cleaned up, the better,” said Tipson.
“It’s being looked at yet again,” said Roderick. He said though he advises people who live in Kent Crossing or those who are going to areas on High Street to drive to campus after dark, he knows students are still going to walk the path so they are working on making it safer.
“If people are going to travel like that, they need to travel in groups,” said Roderick. “Right now we have documented most of what we need for the preliminary investigation.”
Tipson said whether male or female, people should be careful about being out at night. He also urges students to use the escort service.
Tipson said crime spills over from the town, and even though students can also do something horrible, the main danger is from people off-campus.
“We can’t count on them being sensible,” said Tipson. “This is one of the safest places in Maryland, but it’s not completely safe. People are lulled into a false sense of security.”
Roderick said that the WAC Alert, which was sent out to all students in e-mail and those who signed up for it on their cell phones, worked well that night, though it wasn’t perfect.
“It is never going to get out instantly,” said Roderick, because they have to first gather information and tend to the victim before they are able to send out an alert.
A siren alerted students that the attack happened shortly after the incident.
Roderick said the fight between students and community members is still under investigation. He said there is no evidence to believe it is the same people as this attack, but it is possible.
Roderick said crime is down on campus this year from last year. He also said people reported seeing the suspected assailants at a sporting event earlier that evening but they were not doing anything to warrant Public Safety response. He said Public Safety polices but does not profile.
Roderick said he is upping public safety staff and patrols, as is CPD, this weekend to make them more visible on campus to deter crime. He said to be aware, use common sense and do not put yourself in risky situations. He said have a plan before you go out at night and stay with your group of friends.
Roderick said he is not sure if the student was on her phone at the time of the attack, but said when you are talking on your cell phone, you should be aware of your surroundings and show confidence so you make yourself a harder target.
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