Johnny99
Senior Reporter
Police: GW Student Attacked with Hammer
Updated: Monday, 12 Oct 2009, 11:28 PM EDTPublished : Monday, 12 Oct 2009, 11:28 PM EDT
Will Thomas
By WILL THOMAS/myfoxdc
WASHINGTON, D.C. - D.C. Police say a George Washington University student was attacked by 42-year-old Mohammed Niazi of Staunton, Virginia, with a hammer on Friday, and the attacker is still on the loose.
Investigators say it happened in Duques Hall, a facility that is open to the public and does not require an ID check to get in. They say the MBA student was in the restroom when a man attacked him with a hammer from behind.
"He was at the urinal, basically using the facility, and this guy was in the stall, and just came out from behind and attacked him-- and hit him not once, but twice," said Zane Howard, a GWU student.
Police believe the man used a hammer to strike the student, hitting him in the back his head. The blows were apparently strong since they say the victim required stitches at the hospital.
Surveillance cameras captured two photos of the suspected attacker. He is described by the victim as a Middle Eastern man who stands 5'10" to 6' tall with a stocky build and three-quarter length pants.
"It really makes you nervous to go use the bathroom by yourself," Howard said.
"It's not something that I would expect on this campus here," said Julia Szymkowiak, a student. "With so many people, and happening at 3 o'clock in the afternoon on a Friday."
University officials are responding to the attack by posting officers outside Duques and Funger Halls, which comprise the School of Business. Students and staff received email crime alerts, and the campus newspaper put news of the attack on the front page.
Police want you to take a good look at the man they've identified as the suspect because if he randomly attacked one student, there's no telling what he's capable of doing if he's not captured.
Classmates of the victim say he's a member of the Coast Guard, and he's one of the biggest guys at school. They say he fought the attacker off, but some wonder what would have happened to someone smaller in stature and unable to fight back.
Some students say they're so uneasy that they're going to the restroom in groups, and they're looking under the stalls to make sure someone's not standing there, ready to spring out at them.