Several students of Slippery Rock University reported witnessing a violent assault which took place at the off campus housing facility, University Village on Tuesday, April 30 . Kristopher Hawkins, the President of Slippery Rock’s LGBTQ group RockOUT, told the university newspaper, The Rocket,  that he saw a student being being kicked by an assailant, who then screamed, “fucking faggot,” at his target.

The student being assaulted was able to run away, but the attacker continued screaming. Kristopher contacted 911, where he was forwarded to the state police. He requested that an officer be sent to assure the situation was over, but the dispatcher told him that without a call from the victim, they were unable to send an officer. According to The Rocket, the state police cannot take action without the victim being present at the scene, and because the victim had reportedly fled, they were unable to respond to the call.

Taylor Schrecengost, a resident at University Village contacted security, and expressed that she felt they shrugged off the incident. Kristopher reported that University Village security told students that the state police had been informed, and told residents to “clear off.”

As President of RockOUT, Kristopher wants the group to bring awareness to this incident, and to communicate with University Villages about what he felt was a lack of response. While the sexual orientation of the victim is unknown, Kristopher said “based on his reactions and hearing him go on and on, [calling the victim a “faggot”] that’s when it became about LGBTQIA for me.”

The KSV will post updates on this situation as they become available.