Suspect Sought After Attempted Abduction of at Least 3 University of Arizona Students: Police

11 months ago 112

Authorities are currently engaged in an ongoing search for an individual suspected of attempting to abduct three women in separate incidents near the University of Arizona campus in Tucson within the past week. Law enforcement has identified at least two of the victims as university students, both of whom were assaulted during the incidents. According to local CBS station KOLD, the third victim is also a student at the university.

The abduction attempts occurred on three separate days and at three different off-campus locations, as outlined in a news release from the Tucson Police Department. In the most recent incident, which took place before 6 p.m. on Sunday, a University of Arizona Police Department received a distress call from a student. The student reported that a man had approached her from behind, placed his arm around her waist, and assaulted her. The victim screamed, prompting the assailant to flee. The student was unharmed, according to the police.

Following that incident, another victim reported to the Tucson Police’s sexual assault unit that she had been followed by a driver matching the suspect’s description on the morning of Wednesday, Dec. 6. This victim provided an updated description of both the suspect and his vehicle to investigators.

Law enforcement has described the suspect as a man with a dark complexion, potentially Hispanic, standing between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall, with a medium to heavyset build and “close buzz cut hair,” according to the Tucson police. The suspect was reportedly driving a “dark purplish four-door hatchback or crossover vehicle with a dented front bumper, tinted windows, and no front license plate.”

An earlier incident on Dec. 8 involved a University of Arizona student who initially reported being followed by a man in his car while walking just two blocks from campus. The suspect’s vehicle stopped, and he proceeded to grab the victim from behind. However, when the student dropped to the ground and screamed, the assailant returned to his vehicle and drove away, police said.