Alleged assault against Ohio Valley University student under investigation
Trending
PARKERSBURG -- An assault allegedly took place Tuesday evening involving an Ohio Valley University student who was the victim, police said.
A conversation that occurred on campus resulted in a physical altercation that occurred at an off-campus location, said Lt. Greg Collins with the Parkersburg Police Department.
The victim was followed from campus. The potential suspect posed as a police officer and required the victim to pull over, Collins said.
The victim, who was not identified, was treated for minor injuries at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center.
Collins believes the incident may have been a domestic situation, Collins said.
An investigation is taking place to obtain more details about the alleged assault. "If there's something behind this, it doesn't seem to be totally random," Collins said.
Collins said there seems to be a connection with the alleged suspect and some of the students at OVU who were talking initially. "There appears to be a backstory somewhere," he said.
The conversation on campus that evolved into the alleged assault took place near the OVU fountain, Collins said. "It appears that there is some connection to some students there and the person of interest," he said.
Charles Morris, OVU's Chief of Staff, said "we believe that person who caused this incident was not one of our students; our student was simply a victim."
Increasing campus security is a main priority for the police department and OVU, officials said.
"We take the well-being of our students seriously," Morris said. The university is working closely with the police department to provide more officers on duty to protect the students and staff, he said.
"Our biggest concern is the safety of the students and make them feel at ease," Collins said. Along with the increase of security, Morris said another priority is communicating important information to the students and parents.
No further details were revealed because it is an ongoing investigation, Collins said. "(We have to) approach this in the right direction and see what the real issue is and where the real danger is coming from," Collins said.
Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com