Group Chases Student Through Slippery Streets

A group of unidentified males chased a Harvard student through streets near Leverett Towers last Monday in what police are calling an attempted assault.

Words were exchanged between the student, who the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) will not identify, and several males who were standing near the DeWolfe Street housing on Grant Street around 5:50 p.m., police said.

After the student began to pedal away on his bicycle, the males gave chase, said HUPD spokesperson Peggy A. McNamara.

The student's bike slid on the slippery roads and he fell.

"[W]hen he looked up, he observed one suspect standing over him with what appeared to be a silver knife but the blade was not exposed," according to an HUPD bulletin.

That suspect is described as a "[l]ight skinned black male, possibly Hispanic, 18-20 years of age, khaki baggy pants, possibly a baseball cap and a slight mustache."

McNamara would not say what charges the suspect will face if he is caught.

As the incident occurred on the streets of Cambridge, the city's municipal police department was notified, but they are not assisting in the investigation, McNamara said.

The student was not hurt.

According to McNamara, the incident was not related to a similar chase that weekend, when a Law School student was pursued by unidentified males through the walkways near the Law School library.

"The M.O. [modus operandi] was different," she said.

Though the incident occurred on a Monday, a community advisory was not issued until Friday. Police were unavailable for comment on the delay.