Temple Police are looking for two teenage girls in connection with the punching of a female Temple student in the back of the head as she walked down the center sidewalk of 13th Street near Oxford Street around 2:45 p.m, a university spokesman said.
The spokesman, Brandon Lausch, said the student was walking down 13th Street when the two teenagers came up behind her, and one of them landed the punch. He said there was an altercation after the alleged victim turned around after being hit. No motive has yet been identified.
Jim Stix, who has lived on the 1500 block of North 13th Street for the past three years, said he saw from his property one of the teenagers run toward the alleged victim, landing what he called a “roundhouse” punch with her momentum thrown into it.
“She didn’t really stop running as she punched,” he said.
Stix said that as soon as he saw the contact, he shouted and ran over to the student who was punched, who was crying and shaking. The other two girls ran away, he said. He went outside and notified officers in a passing Temple Police car after bringing the student into his home and letting her sit on his steps.
The student reported neck soreness but did not require medical attention, Lausch said.
Lausch said no TU Alert was sent out to the Temple community because of the location and lesser severity of the crime. He said police are reviewing surveillance camera footage for leads, but believes they have “good information” to act upon.
“It’s just really troubling,” Stix said.
“I think it’s disgusting that Temple did not alert the student body of the attack, especially since the two girls were not found,” Stix said in a follow-up email. “They could have resurfaced with bricks on the other side of the campus.”
Zaria Estes, the 15-year-old girl who hit a Temple student with a brick in March, pled guilty Tuesday to charges of aggravated assault, conspiracy and possession of an instrument of crime.
“This s— doesn’t surprise me,” Stix said later. “This is just kids with nothing better to do. There’s a lot of anger out here.”
Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@temple.edu or on Twitter @JBrandt_TU.
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