A 19-year-old ASU student of Indian descent was assaulted in a parking lot early Tuesday.
The assault marks the third time that an ASU student has been the target of an on-campus hate crime since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
ASU spokesman Keith Jennings called the attack “incredibly stupid.”
“This kind of thing should not be happening on campus,” he said. “This being a place of education should imply some kind of understanding.”
The student was walking home from his job at an unidentified residence dining hall shortly after 1 a.m. when he was approached from behind and pushed to the ground.
His three assailants punched and kicked him and shouted slurs, including “Die, Muslim, die,” Jennings said. The student is a native of India.
The assault occurred in Parking Lot 46, adjacent to the Facilities Management Building on University Drive, west of McAllister Avenue.
ASU police are looking for three men in connection with the incident. They were last seen heading north in the vicinity of Manzanita Hall.
The first suspect is a white male with short dark hair and a medium build. He is approximately 5-feet-10-inches and 170 lbs. The second suspect is another white male with the same height, weight and build. The third suspect is a Hispanic male with a similar height, weight and build.
Jennings said officials do not know if the suspects are ASU students.
The assaulted student has asked that his name not be released. He did not initially want police involved, for fear his name might be released into the media and his parents might force him to move back to India, Jennings said. The student did not receive medical attention.
Jennings said that, in response to the recent student attacks, ASU police has stepped up security, placing more uniformed and non-uniformed officers on campus.
“We are doing the best we can, but we can’t have a cop on every corner,” he said.
Jennings suggested that students should always use the Safety Escort Service and try to walk in groups.
“The people that commit these kinds of acts aren’t brave,” he said. “They look for someone alone.”
ASU police are asking anyone with information or who may have been in the area to contact (480) 965-3456.
In the image : Students were given the opportunity to choose from pre-written slogans such as “An Eye for an Eye Makes Us All Blind” and “Hate Does Not Equal Justice,” to write on their white T-shirts, or to pick a slogan of their own. Members of the social work program as well as students who wanted to contribute to the function donated the T-shirts.
Reach Dana Brody at dana5286@aol.com.
