Assault reported at MAST@FIU

By Joshua Ceballos/News Director

 

Update Friday, Dec. 14:

FIU Police and Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers have updated the reward for assistance in the apprehension of the Biscayne Bay Campus assaulter to up to $5,000.

It has been almost three months since the two Mast@FIU students were assaulted at BBC and hospitalized, but the perpetrator is yet to be found.

 

Update Monday, Sept. 17:

FIU Police have released an updated subject description and sketch of the suspect in the assault case at MAST@FIU. Anyone with information on the suspect is encouraged to call CrimeStoppers at 305-471-8477.

 

Update Sept. 13:

The FIU Police Department has released a sketch of the suspect involved in the assault on Mast@FIU students Isabela Victoria Perdomo and James Sadler Critz. FIUPD and CrimeStoppers are asking for community help in identifying the suspect, and CrimeStoppers will be offering a reward for any tips.

FIUPD and CrimeStoppers are looking for a mulatto male with dark, short-cropped hair.

The sketch of the suspect was done by a Miami Dade Police forensic artist working with one of the victims, according to FIUPD Chief Casas.

The sketch does not match initial reports that the perpetrator was a black male.

Update Sept. 11: 

President Mark B. Rosenberg, joined by Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho and FIU Police Chief Alexander Casas, spoke to media outlets in an impromptu press conference at Biscayne Bay Campus on the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 11 regarding the assault that took place on Monday.

Student Media was at the scene, live recording the event. The footage is shown below.

HAPPENING NOW: President Rosenberg addresses media https://t.co/MyFJck0wsK

— PantherNOW (@_PantherNOW) September 11, 2018

Rosenberg is calling the event an isolated event in an “isolated” part of campus. He also called the campus a safe place and that police and the university want to get to the bottom of the attack.

Alberto Carvalho, Miami Dade County Public Schools superintendent, spoke to the victims and said he walked the trail where the attack occurred.

“This came as a shock to all of us,” said Carvalho.

Carvalho urged students to be vigilant and stay in groups if venturing out to the paths. He also said that Monday was not a regular school day, and that the students were studying on campus although school was not in session. He told media that he has deployed crisis counselors to the school to provide aid to students who need it.

Chief Casas told Student Media after the event that FIU Police were able to interview the female victim, and her account enabled the police to tighten the timeline of the incident, as well as ensure that their investigation “is going in the right direction,” and bring “more clarity.”

Casas said that the two victims are in more stable condition, and he also said that FIU police have increased their patrol on campus and added personnel this week.

 

Additional reporting by Gerard Albert III and Anna Radinsky/Assistant News Directors

 

Update 7:33 p.m., Sept. 10:

FIU Police Chief Alexander Casas told Student Media that the victims were physically assaulted around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 10 with an item, but it is unknown at this time what the item was. The information in the original report includes was all that the victims were able to tell FIUPD, and they could not ascertain more details on the perpetrator.

The assault occurred in the bay area of the University campus, near the water, where the two high school students were picking up some items for a project.

The investigation is ongoing by FIUPD at BBC.

 

Original story:

An assault has been reported at the MAST@FIU high school on the Biscayne Bay Campus.

A press release from External Relations stated that there is little information out currently on the incident or the suspects, only general descriptions.

“The subject is a black male, possibly 16 to 18 years of age wearing an unknown color t-shirt and shorts, who fled in an unknown direction,” reads the email.

The victims are two MAST@FIU students, who reported the assault to the FIU Police Department.

Student Media has contacted FIUPD for a statement and will update this article as soon as more information becomes available.