Female Student Stabbed While Walking Dog At UC Irvine, Suspect At Large
IRVINE (CBSLA) — Authorities are searching for a man who attempted to sexually assault a female student before stabbing her Sunday evening while she was walking on the University of California, Irvine campus.
The victim was walking her dog when she was assaulted from behind and stabbed just before 10 p.m. on the east side of campus, near student apartments in the 33000 block of Arroyo Drive, according to the UCI Police Department.
The suspect attempted to remove the victim's clothes, police said. A struggle ensued before he hit her on the head and then stabbed her.
The victim, whose name was not released, was able to make it back to her apartment, where paramedics and police responded. She was transported by ambulance to a local hospital where she was in stable condition Monday, campus police said.
The suspect ran away. He was only described as having a large build and wearing a dark-colored hoodie.
While officers searched for the man, the school sent out email and text message alerts to students ordering them to shelter in place. Just before midnight, campus police tweeted that they had "thoroughly" checked the entire campus and believed the suspect was no longer in the area.
Police have increased patrols around the Camino Del Sol apartments.
"I'm confused, because this is usually a pretty safe neighborhood, and I never expected to something like a stabbing to happen," one student told CBS2 Monday.
City of Irvine police are assisting in the investigation. Anyone with information on the suspect should call campus police at 949-824-5223.