Four women were victims of attacks, and two of them suffered head injuries, in the early morning hours of Halloween near the University of Kansas campus, according to Lawrence police.
Two 20-year-old women were “reportedly struck from behind and both knocked to the ground by an unknown assailant” around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 31, while they were walking north in the 1000 block of Ohio Street, Kim Murphree, a spokesperson for the Lawrence Police Department, said via email Friday.
One of the women yelled for help, and a 21-year-old man walking with friends nearby went to help them. Police and paramedics responded.
“Both women suffered head injuries and at least one was treated at a local hospital,” Murphree wrote. “This incident is still under investigation.”
Just a couple of hours prior, around 12:22 a.m., three women — two 18-year-olds and a 19-year-old — were walking near 14th and Tennessee streets when a man approached them, asking them to take a selfie, Murphree wrote. The women told police that they said “no” and walked away toward Kentucky Street, where one of the women left to get in her car.
“The remaining two women reported that they were, again, approached by the man, but this time, the man grabbed one of the women and began touching her inappropriately,” Murphree wrote. “The woman stated that she struggled, and he finally let go, but then grabbed her friend and began touching her in the same manner. The two women struggled and the man finally fled.”
In that incident, officers canvassed the area but did not find the suspect. The women were not injured, and the incident is still under investigation.
Murphree did not say whether the victims of either attacks were KU students; however, the Times heard concerns from some KU parents who said their students had heard about the incidents involving students and had been alerted to stay vigilant.
No arrests had been made in connection with either incident as of Friday afternoon.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
