By Hemesh Patel
Daily Bruin Staff
A string of sexual assaults has plagued the campus and its
surrounding areas since August, with the latest incident occurring
Friday.
Two students were walking back from a friend’s house
around 11 p.m. when a man grabbed one of the women on the 500 block
of Veteran Avenue.
“Around the apartment a guy appeared, who started walking
behind us but far away,” said the victim’s roommate,
who wished to remain anonymous to protect her friend’s
identity.
“He grabbed my roommate, and she screamed really loudly. I
turned around and I saw a guy with a long shirt and long pants
running off very quickly,” she added.
She described the suspect as 5 foot 8 inches and Latino or
white, with short hair.
An attempted rape occurred Nov. 28 on the walkway from Sunset
Canyon Recreation Center on De Neve Drive, near Bellagio Drive.
ABC 7 News described the suspect as a 5 foot 6 to 5 foot 9
African American man who jumped out of a bush.
To add to these two incidents, a man sexually assaulted another
person in the parking lot on Young Drive North, between De Neve
Drive and Westwood Boulevard on Nov. 24.
This suspect is described as a 5 foot 8 to 5 foot 10 Hispanic or
African American man in his early 20s.
The incident was one of nine incidents which began in August.
The initial six incidents took place in Lots 2 and 3 on Tuesdays
and Wednesdays between 3:50 and 4:30 p.m.
The next two attacks occurred on consecutive Saturdays, earlier
in the afternoon. One incident took place in Lot 2 and the other at
the intersection of Young Drive North and Royce Drive.
University police are urging students to remain alert at all
times and to not walk on campus alone at night.
An escort service is available to all UCLA students on and
around campus between dusk and 1 a.m. at (310) 794-WALK.