Two students were injured in separate off-campus stabbings during the past week and a half, university safety officials said yesterday.
A student was assaulted and stabbed in the arm near campus early yesterday morning, and another was hit by a knife thrown by a man at a Halloween party on Oct. 30, according to individuals involved in the incidents.
The new off-campus assaults come after a recent string of robberies and assaults in the university area. Campus safety officials say they have taken steps to heighten student awareness and work with the Metropolitan Police Department to step up patrols in the wake of several crimes against students last month.
Yesterday’s assault occurred at about 4:15 a.m. near the corner of Potomac and O Streets, according to the victim, Michael Nacchio (COL ’06).
In his witness report to the Metropolitan Police Department, Nacchio reported that he was walking toward the intersection of Potomac and O Streets when a brown Toyota Camry pulled along side him. One of the two men in the car exited the vehicle to ask Nacchio directions, Nacchio said.
Nacchio gave the man directions and continued to walk away but the suspect and the second man in the car continued to follow him. Nacchio wrote that when he turned around, he saw the suspect carrying a switchblade knife, but the suspect was too close for him to run away. Nacchio then fought the suspect, knocking the knife out of his hand.
“Realizing that I could not escape and was cornered, I closed with [the suspect] and moved to strike the knife out of my assailant’s hand,” Nacchio said in his witness report.
Nacchio then attempted to flee to his apartment on Potomac Street, but the suspect pursued and tackled him. Nacchio wrote that he and the suspect fought on the ground for some time, and the suspect attempted to stab Nacchio during the struggle.
After striking his attacker in the groin and face, Nacchio again attempted to flee, but the suspect was able to strike him with the knife as he got up. Nacchio’s right arm and bicep were cut before he finally escaped and the suspect left in the car
Nacchio immediately called the Department of Public Safety and was transported to an area hospital, where he received four stitches and treatment for other minor injuries. He praised DPS’s prompt response time.
The incident is under investigation by both DPS and MPD, according to a broadcast e-mail sent out last night by university safety officials.
The victim of last week’s assault, who asked that he not be identified, said that he was leaving a party on Reservoir Road at about 1 a.m. when he began arguing with a man he believed to be another Georgetown student. The student said the argument began when the man ridiculed his baby costume and quickly escalated into physical violence.
“He started telling me to get out of the party and then kicked me in the chest,” the victim said. “He said something else and then kicked me again.”
The student said that he tried to leave the house when other partygoers asked him to leave and the man began to threaten him with a steak knife from the kitchen. As the student was leaving, the man threw the knife at him, striking the student’s back and piercing his skin and outer layer of muscle, the student said.
“When I got outside I felt my back and there was blood,” he said.
The student said that he fled the party and went to a friend’s house, where he contacted DPS. Although he initially thought the wound to his back was not serious, the student was transported to the emergency room and received stitches after he was unable to stop the bleeding, he said.
DPS responded to the fight and is continuing an investigation into the incident, according to a DPS incident log. David Morrell, vice president for university safety, declined to discuss either of the incidents. DPS Director Darryl Harrison could not be reached for comment.
