A female Dartmouth Medical School student was assaulted outside her home in Wilder, Vt. by an unknown assailant last Thursday evening.
The victim, whose name has yet to be released, left her condominium at approximately 9 p.m. and was walking to a nearby parking garage when an attacker struck her on the head from behind. The student fell face-first onto pavement and never saw her assailant, who subsequently fled the scene. According to law enforcement officials, the victim suffered minor injuries to her mouth and was taken by ambulance to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for treatment.
Officers from the Hartford, Vt. Police Department are investigating the assault but have not made any arrests.
"We're following up with one person who the victim was having problems with," patrol officer Sean Reynolds said. "We don't have any really solid leads."
Police were similarly uncertain of the motive for the crime. None of the victim's possessions -- she reportedly carried a backpack and car keys at the time of the assault -- were taken.
Investigating officials expressed doubt that the unknown attacker was a member of the Dartmouth community.
"The victim didn't believe that she had problems with anyone she went to school with," Reynolds said. The assault occurred approximately five miles from the Green.
According to police, seemingly-random assaults such as this one are uncommon in the Hanover area.
"Most of the time, assaults are domestic -- spouses fighting with each other, things like that. Assaults like this are not common," Reynolds said.
Police are advising members of the College to pay attention to their surroundings, particularly at nighttime, and to contact authorities if they see any abnormal or suspicious behavior.
On campus, Safety and Security offers to escort community members to their destinations between dusk and dawn. Officers will provide car rides to A-Lot, the parking lot most often utilized by undergraduates, and to the River cluster parking lot, which is frequented by graduate students.
"We always recommend that students are cautious," Safety and Security Sergeant Rebel Roberts said.
