Student Allegedly Assaulted in Carman Hall
By Juan B. García
The southeast stairwell at the basement level of Carman Hall, where the incident allegedly occurred. Photo by Juan B. García.
Multiple reports were made to Public Safety about a Lehman student being assaulted on Feb. 8, 2017 by four unidentified attackers, two males and two females, at approximately 4:25 p.m. in the basement level southeast stairwell of Carman Hall.
According to Public Safety, the Lehman student had a verbal altercation with the females. Public Safety didn’t disclose to the Meridian the reason the argument started. The altercation began off campus at Kingsbridge Road. The student then entered the campus through Gate 13 on Jerome Ave.
“While the student was walking onto the campus, it looks like [the two males] were on the phone and following him,” said Department of Public Safety Director Fausto Ramirez. “We also captured some of the footage on video of a car pulling out and two females approaching the vehicle,” said Ramirez. There’s also footage where one can see the student running and the two males and females pursuing him.
According to Public Safety, once inside the basement of Carman Hall, they and the student got into a fight. The student pulled the fire alarm to call for help, and the building was evacuated. The four attackers fled the area in their car after the incident. The student was severely beaten, with injuries to his head, his hands, and his face, according to Ramirez.
During the fight, multiple calls were made to Public Safety, with some students reporting a fight and others calling 911. In the meantime, the fire alarm was going off. On top of that, a call from the Old Gym reported that a person got sick and had to be taken to the hospital. “It was the perfect storm,” recalled Ramirez.
After the attack, the Lehman student was taken by Emergency Medical Services to the hospital where he was treated and released the same day. Once Carman Hall was considered safe, all occupants were allowed to reenter it.
Public Safety searched the campus but did not find the attackers. However, while investigating, they recovered evidence and footage of the incident which has been turned over to the detectives of the NYPD 52nd Precinct, where Detective Michael Smith was the lead investigator. When reached by the Meridian, Detective Smith declined to make any comments regarding the case. Eyewitnesses provided the license plate number of the car in which the attackers fled. Public Safety found an ID which belonged to one of the females, which was from Monroe College.
“During the altercation and the assault, one of the females dropped her ID card,” said Ramirez. Two weeks later, she was arrested. According to him, there have not been more arrests.
Public Safety is asking anyone who may have additional information regarding this incident to contact them.
