An undergraduate student reported being assaulted Thursday evening in a parking lot at Fischer Graduate Residences along Bulla Road, Notre Dame Security/Police said.
The student told NDSP she was struck in the face and then kicked by a man who approached her after walking behind her, NDSP Director Phillip Johnson said in a campus-wide e-mail Thursday night. The man asked the woman questions before grabbing her arm and hitting her in the face, he said. When she then fell to the ground, the man kicked her, she told NDSP.
Johnson had "no information to share about" the nature of those questions, he said Sunday. He did not know if the woman sought medical attention, he said.
The man then fled in a vehicle, possibly accompanied by two other people, NDSP said. The suspect in the assault was described to NDSP as a 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-tall black male of stocky build. He appeared to be between 20 and 25 years of age and was wearing a black Puma jacket, NDSP said.
Nothing was stolen from the woman, and no reason for the assault has surfaced, Johnson said.
"It's not clear what the motive was," he said.
The incident is considered an on-campus offense. Violent assaults on campus are "very infrequent," Johnson said.
After the assault occurred, the woman went to a friend's apartment and then to a residence hall, where NDSP was contacted.
NDSP investigators met with the woman and will contact other law enforcement agencies to see if any similar crimes have been committed in the area, Johnson said.
NDSP asks anyone with information about the case to contact the investigations section at 574-631-8340.
