A man with a knife attacked a female student in a Cal State Long Beach parking structure before she drove herself to a hospital for treatment, according to university officials.
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The unidentified woman was in good condition after the Monday afternoon attack, says CSULB spokesperson Terri Carbaugh.
The student was walking to her car on the covered fourth level of Parking Structure 1 at the north end of the campus near the Pyramid around 2:20 p.m. when she was approached by a unknown man holding a knife, according to University Police.
She grabbed at the knife, injuring her hand. The man dropped the weapon, picked it back up and fled on foot heading south, say police, who did not find out about the incident until 3:45 p.m. that same afternoon, when the victim's father called to report the attack.
Despite receiving the report more than an hour after it happened, campus police immediately responded to Parking Structure 1 and surrounding areas to search for the suspect and any possible witnesses, say police, who also sent detectives to the hospital to get the victim's statement.
She described her attacker as white, in his 20s, medium build, about 5-foot-8 and wearing a clean blue baseball cap, eyeglasses, a navy blue T-shirt and blue jeans.
Meanwhile, the surrounding campus community was immediately notified of the incident and reminded of University Police's Night Escort Program that has officers accompanying people to and from their vehicles.
“University Police have increased uniform patrols in all areas on campus including the parking structures,” reads a statement from the agency. “University Police Detectives are working closely with our surrounding law enforcement agencies to apprehend the suspect.”
Anyone with more information is asked to call campus police at 562.985.4101. Meanwhile, other students, faculty and staff are being advised to immediately dial 9-1-1 from a cell phone or campus phone or to activate a blue phone during an emergency.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.