Two UR students told the Campus Times they were jumped between Riverview Apartments and local bar TinRoof on Saturday.
Seniors Zachary Smith and Kevin Canty said they were walking home from TinRoof shortly after 1 a.m. when they passed a group of five or six men. Seemingly out of nowhere, they said, one punched Canty in the side of the head. The rest quickly joined in, the students said, going for Smith as well.
“It was completely unprovoked.” Canty said. “I just walked by, and the next thing I know I was getting punched.”
The seniors said the assailants didn’t say anything to the two, nor did they demand money or valuables. After landing several solid hits on both Canty and Smith, they said, the assailants stopped and Canty and Smith ran away. Aside from several bruises, the two had no serious physical injuries.
“I was really grateful that I wasn’t seriously hurt.” Smith said. “It definitely could have been a lot worse.”
Upon getting back to Riverview Apartments, Smith and Canty called Public Safety, who responded promptly. The Medical Emergency Response Team also arrived at the scene, to check the two for injuries.
The incident occurred outside of Public Safety’s jurisdiction, so Smith and Canty — encouraged by Public Safety — filed a report with the Rochester Police Department (RPD).
TinRoof, about a fifth of a mile from Riverview Apartments according to Google Maps, is often visited by UR students.
Public Safety did not release a university-wide alert informing students of the incident.
“The nature of the incident, while concerning, is not the type that we normally send a campus wide email about,” Public Safety Commander Dana Perrin said in an email to CT.
“We will on occasion send a message on a case that involves a significant felony — most usually a robbery or some serious crime like that — but it’s kind of a judgement call on how far we will extend that,” Director of Public Safety Mark Fischer told CT.
“It’s in the best interest of keeping students safe,” he added.
Fischer said that at the beginning of each academic year, Public Safety works with RPD to increase Public Safety’s presence in the 19th Ward and around University property. Public Safety patrols with and without RPD during this time, Fischer said.
Both Smith and Canty said the incident has made them more aware of their surroundings, even when in familiar areas. While Canty said he will continue frequenting TinRoof, he plans on traveling in bigger groups to avoid any more incidents.
“It’s something that you don’t really expect to happen, especially when you’re walking such a short distance.” Canty said.
Correction (9/11/19): An earlier version of this article said the incident was reported to be after 1 a.m. on a Friday. It was, in fact, Saturday.
