Two students allegedly were assaulted in separate incidents three hours apart Friday night near the railroad tracks behind the Corner area.
A College student was walking on the tracks around 11:30 p.m. Friday night when two men struck him from behind and pushed him down the hill, according to a Charlottesville Police report.
A graduate student, on his way to visit friends, was in the same area around 2:30a.m. Saturday morning when he also was attacked from behind, according to the police report. The attackers took the student's wallet during the assault.
According to Charlottesville Police Sgt. David Jones, the College student's police report described the attackers as two white males aged 18-22. The graduate student's police report described the attackers only as two males.
Each student was alone when he was assaulted.
Both students confirmed the police reports but requested anonymity for safety reasons.
The graduate student said he thought there were five attackers but remembered little about the attack.
"It's really tough to remember at this point," he said. "It was all in a flash."
The attackers broke the student's nose, necessitating hospital treatment, the graduate student said.
"They had me pretty much out of it at the hospital," he said.
The College student also was injured and said he plans to visit a doctor today.
"I hit my head pretty hard," he said.
The College student also lost his glasses after the attack.
Charlottesville Police said they are investigating both incidents, but do not know if the assaults are related. The College student said he did not think the assaults were related.
Rachel Vogus, Student Council Safety and Wellness Committee co-chair, said the committee had not previously received any complaints about the area where the students were assaulted.
The Night Tour Safety Walk, held Oct. 18 by members of both the University's Safety and General Security Committee and the Safety and Wellness Committee, examined potentially dangerous areas on and around Grounds, but Vogus said Council could not make changes to areas not owned by the University.
Vogus said, however, that Council is setting up a system that will allow students to report concerns about specific areas.
"The Student Council is always concerned with areas whether they're on Grounds or not," Vogus said.
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