Georgia Tech police Chief Teresa Crocker said Wednesday that investigators now believe the same person may be responsible this week’s attacks on three female students who were accosted while walking across the campus.
Crocker told the AJC in an interview Wednesday that police were "working diligently" to solve the case, but “we don’t have a lot to go on at this point. The victims have not been able to give a lot of information on what the perpetrators look like.”
Despite some differences in the initial descriptions of the perpetrators, Crocker said there have been similarities in all three of the Tech incidents.
“With the similarities that we have, we think that it may be the same person,” Crocker said.
“This isn’t anything that has occurred in the eight years that I’ve been here, so to think that you’ve got a lot of people out here doing that is probably not right,” she said.
“We don’t know what kind of person we’re dealing with," she said. "It could just be someone that wants to touch women. That’s what he’s done up to this point.”
Crocker said that on Tuesday, Atlanta police made an arrest in a “very similar incident” that occurred on Piedmont Road, and the man arrested in that incident would be placed in a photo lineup for the victims of the Tech attacks.
Police are also stepping up patrols on the northwest Atlanta campus in the wake of the attacks, two of which occurred on Saturday and the third early Tuesday morning.
“After three similar incidents on campus, Georgia Tech Police are teaming up with Atlanta Police, Georgia State Patrol as well as other law enforcement agencies to enhance patrols and increase the number of officers on duty," the university said in a statement released Tuesday night. "While there have been no serious injuries, Georgia Tech Police ask that everyone take extra caution."
In the latest alleged incident, a woman told campus police she was walking on McMillan Street near Turner Place around 12:50 a.m. Tuesday when an unknown male approached her from behind and grabbed her around the waist, according to a crime alert sent Tuesday evening.
The woman, whose name was not released, struck the man and ran, police said. The victim was not injured.
The suspect, described as a tan-skinned male, ran from McMillan Street toward 8th Street. He was about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 175 pounds, and was last seen wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt with dark jeans and white tennis shoes, police said.
Two other female students reported separate weekend incidents involving assault and sexual battery on campus, police said.
In the first incident, a woman told police she was walking near 4th and Fowler streets around 12:15 a.m. Saturday when an unknown man approached her from behind and pushed her up against a wall near the Wesley Foundation, the Georgia Tech Police Department said in crime alert posted online.
The male unzipped the woman's pants but ran toward Tech Square when the woman yelled, police said. The woman, whose name was not released, received minor injuries.
The suspect is described as a black male, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, with an average build and wearing a white baseball cap, police said.
In the second incident, which occurred around 8:15 p.m. Saturday, a woman told police she was on Tech Walkway when an unknown man approached her from behind and grabbed her thigh in a bear hug.
The woman screamed and was able to pull away from the man, who ran toward the outdoor seating area of Einstein Bros. Bagels at Student Center Commons, police said.
The man, who was white and believed to be in his late 20s to middle 30s, was about 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 160 pounds. He had brown hair and was wearing a light brown, camouflage jacket with brown athletic shorts, police said.
The woman told police the man ran with a noticeably awkward gait.
Campus police sent out alerts to report the crimes to other students and staff members, university spokesman Matt Nagel told the AJC.
The university issued a safety advisory with tips to remind students, faculty and staff to report any suspicious activity immediately to Georgia Tech Police by calling 404-894-2500.
People should walk in groups, be aware of surroundings, program the Tech police number into cell phones, and call the Stingerette, campus transportation, for a ride home at 404-385-7433.
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