Crime Spree Shakes Gonzaga Students Late-Night Attacks Have Students Traveling In Packs

James Skaggs, a freshman at Gonzaga University, hoped to meet new friends at the library when he crossed campus alone one night last week.

Instead, he was attacked by a trio of young men who kicked him and hit him in the head while cheering one another on.

“I really thought they were just waiting for somebody to walk through, and I just happened to be the poor schmuck who did,” said 18-year-old Skaggs, who moved to Spokane from Boise.

The attack was just one in a series that has many GU students traveling in packs at night, calling for security escorts or just staying home.

Campus police have peppered students and the faculty with reminders to report suspicious people and with assurances that police are stepping up patrols in the area.

At least two of the three attacks involved guns; one student was pistol-whipped after grabbing his attacker’s weapon. In a fourth case, a young man was confronted but not assaulted.

The most recent attack occurred early Saturday.

“The anxiety level is pretty high, as is understandable,” said Jeffery Hart, GU’s security director.

“It’s been the craziest week I’ve seen.”

Adding to students’ anxiety are reports of three other recent - but apparently unrelated - attacks. Two women reported being raped in dormitories by acquaintances, and a third student said a stranger grabbed her buttocks on the Centennial Trail at Mission Park on Friday, authorities said.

“It’s really scary,” said Katherine Anderson, a 19-year-old chemistry major. “We don’t even leave the house after dark unless we’re in like a group of 12.

“I’ve never experienced anything like it before.

I’m a freshman from Wyoming. I haven’t told my parents - they would freak.”

Theo Sanders, a 21-year-old senior, said he’s never felt threatened on the campus until now. “It definitely makes you consider a little bit more. I still walk home by myself, but I have second thoughts about it.”

The rapes were reported Sept. 25 and 28, one at Cremont dormitory and the other in a dorm on North Cincinnati, said Dick Cottam, spokesman for the Spokane Police Department.

The first report of trouble from a stranger was made Sept. 27, according to Hart. A student walking near the administration building at night was approached by a man who put his hand in his pocket and threatened to shoot. Nothing more happened.

The next night, Skaggs was attacked near St. Aloysius. He suspects his attackers were drunk. They ran away after he used some of the kicks he’s learned in nine years of martial arts training.

Then at 2 a.m. on Sept. 30, a student walking near the administration building was robbed of his wallet and backpack by two males with a gun, Hart said. The attackers ran to a waiting car.

In the most recent attack early Saturday, two students were robbed at gunpoint and one was pistol-whipped, Hart said. Later that night, police arrested three young men and two juveniles after what police called a robbery spree across the North Side.

Hart said GU’s crime spree has since stopped. Wednesday night, Sandy Richards, a Spokane Police crime prevention specialist, said the five males arrested Saturday confessed to the most recent campus robbery.

But Hart and Richards don’t want students to let their guard down. They urge students to stay vigilant about walking in groups at night and reporting suspicious people.

Richards met with about two dozen students Wednesday night to go over safety tips and talk about the week’s events.

She assured the students they are not living in a crime-ridden area or city. The recent crimes on campus stand out because they are unusual.

Skaggs, an ROTC recruit and member of GU’s crew team, said no one needs to remind him to be cautious.

“I walked by myself all the time. We pretty much hang out in a group now,” he said. “It’s almost like a paranoia. Wherever you walk, you’re looking for something.”

Bill Roberts, security and safety manager for Whitworth College, said GU’s crime spree is unusual for any college campus. However, GU’s campus, he noted, is more vulnerable to crime because of its urban setting.

“Our campus is more enclosed and protected within an area,” he said.

Roberts said he’s been well-aware of the GU attacks, because it’s common practice for college police departments to exchange information about incidents on their campuses.

Just like last weekend, GU has hired two offduty police officers to patrol the campus this weekend.

Staff writer Carol MacPherson contributed to this report.