A Georgetown student is recovering after he was brutally beaten and robbed on Sept. 1.

According to a Sept. 3 public safety alert from the Department of Public Safety, the student was attacked while talking on his cellular phone on the 1300 block of 35th Street NW.

After punching and kicking him, the two assailants stole his wallet and cell phone before fleeing the area. After witnesses contacted the Metropolitan Police Department and DPS, the suspects were apprehended at the Exxon gas station on the 3600 block of M Street.

According to MPD, both suspects are active-duty enlisted Army soldiers assigned to the Fort Myer military base in Virginia.

According to Lt. Brian Gray, an MPD spokesman, the two suspects, Jonathan Milland and Keith Hilthy, are being charged with robbery with force and violence, a felony. He estimated that if convicted, they could be sent to prison for up to 20 years.

“The victim was just in front of a house innocently talking on his cell phone when the two suspects beat him up, without any provocation at all,” Gray said.

Milland and Hilthy could not be reached for comment.

Gray said that there were two witnesses to the crime and one of them may have been the victim’s girlfriend. After the witnesses contacted authorities and followed the suspects to the gas station, actions which Gray termed as “heroic,” the police responded and arrested the two individuals.

When interviewed by police, the suspects stated that the victim had called them “gay.” According to Gray, this was their justification for the attack.

“I saw the poor victim and I talked to him and I think the attack was probably completely unprovoked,” Gray said.

David Morrell, vice president for university safety, commended the actions of the witnesses Tuesday and said that the university is considering publicly recognizing them for their actions.