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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Pullman police seeking three men following assault

Pullman Police are looking for three college-aged men following the assault of a Washington State University instructor who tried to break up an argument early Saturday morning. Police Cmdr. Chris Tenant said surveillance video of the incident in the Adams Mall parking lot just before 2 a.m. shows David Warner try and intervene in an argument between the three men. “He had both hands up in the air positioning his body between the two groups that were in an argument,” Tenant said. Warner was accompanied by an acquaintance, who was wearing a Seattle Seahawks jersey and has been identified, but it is unclear if he or the acquaintance knew the three people involved in the argument, Tenant said. “One of the three is obviously the major combatant person but the other two are involved to some extent,” Tenant said. Warner is still in critical condition at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. He was knocked unconscious before being transported to a Pullman hospital and then to Sacred Heart. Warner is an instructor in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender, and Race Studies. In a statement on the WSU website, university President Elson Floyd said there have been rumors that the attack was some sort of hate crime. Tenant said there is nothing to indicate a hate motive at this time, and that it appears the original argument was not about Warner. Tenant said police are still looking for witnesses, as several people are seen on surveillance video recording the scene on their cell phones. Anyone with information is asked to call Pullman police at (509) 334-0802.