Mast@FIU assault victim asks for help in press conference

Michelle Marchante/Editor-in-Chief

One of the Mast@FIU high school students that was attacked at the Biscayne Bay campus has asked the public for help in identifying their attacker.

Accompanied by her mother and sister, Isabela Victoria Perdomo, 15, spoke to a room full of reporters at BBC’s Glenn Hubert Library during a press conference on Wednesday, Sept. 26, about the assault that left her and classmate James Sadler Critz, 16, in the hospital for days. 

Isabela Perdomo sits between her mother and sister as she speaks to reporters during the press conference at the Biscayne Bay campus on Wed, Sept. 26. Photo by Michelle Marchante/PantherNOW

Perdomo and Critz, as Student Media previously reported, were walking by the bay, collecting material for an ongoing project, when they were attacked Monday, Sept. 10.

The assault, which Perdomo described as “random,” occurred in an area that is located behind Bayview Housing and the Koven Center— the last two buildings on campus—and can only be reached by a dirt road.

This is the area by the bay where two Mast@FIU high school students were assaulted on Monday, Sept. 10. Photo by Michelle Marchante/PantherNOW

“I was trying not to die. I was thinking maybe he was going to throw us in the bay. I was trying to think what his intentions were during the attack and tried to get around it,” Perdomo said.

The attack, her mother said, left Perdomo with a fractured skull, a wrist fracture, hearing loss and vision complications. Seeing her daughter in the hospital, Perdomo’s mother said, was one of the worst days of her life.

“My heart dropped. I’d never been so scared in my life,” Perdomo’s mother said. “She had two gigantic gashes in her head…and the ICU nurses and doctors couldn’t tell me if she was going to be OK or not.”

BBC press conference about the recent assault. https://t.co/bYRzCmrgPd

— PantherNOW (@_PantherNOW) September 26, 2018

The man who attacked Perdomo and Critz, according to the latest sketch released by Florida International University’s Police Department, as of press time, is believed to be 18-20 years old, with short, cropped black hair, brown eyes and approximately 5’10’.

Computerized sketch courtesy of FIU Police

He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt with font graphics and dark colored shorts.

Perdomo, her family and the police are asking anyone with information about the suspect to contact FIUPD at 305-348-2626 or CrimeStoppers at 305-471-8477. Callers can remain anonymous and a reward is being offered.

Feature Image by Michelle Marchante/PantherNOW