Student attacked by gunman
A UNIVERSITY of York student recently fought back after an armed robber attempted to mug him at gunpoint on Heslington Road.
The third year science student knocked the would-be robber to the floor and wrestled the gun from him while repeatedly punching him in the face, before escaping with the firearm.
The attempted mugging took place on Thursday September 20 at 2.40 a.m., when the student was walking home from The Gallery nightclub.
Speaking of the attack, he said, “The bit where I noticed something was up was on Heslington Road near the Spar. There was a man walking up ahead, and he had been walking normally, but then he put on this exaggerated drunken walk. I was a bit drunk, but not so drunk I didn’t know what was going on, so I crossed the road. Then he crossed over and asked me what time it was in a slurring voice, and I told him, and then he pulled out a gun and said ‘now give your wallet’. Then there was a big scrap where I grabbed his gun and we were fighting in the street.
“He was holding the gun about six inches from my chest, and he asked for my wallet but I didn’t want to give him it. It sounds stupid, but when someone’s holding a gun that close to you, it’s just instinct to push it away.
“He bit into my chest [and] drew blood, but I managed to pull him off and just kept hitting him in the face. I did eventually get his gun off him when he was on the floor, and then he called for someone and I thought, if he’s got a gang, I’m not taking them on, so I just ran with his gun.
Recalling his condition on arriving home, the student said: “I was covered in blood - my hands had blood on them, and my shirt. There was a lot of blood, not just from the bite, but my hands were bleeding too.”
The student was taken to hospital by a friend later that morning, where he was given a tetanus jab and put on a course of antibiotics to avert infection from the bite. He contacted the police, who are conducting DNA tests on blood found on the student’s clothing in an attempt to identify the attacker.
Police have appealed for help in catching the gunman, who they say may have sustained facial injuries during the fight. Detective Constable Craig Wilson of York CID said: “We would ask that if any member of the public has any information about any person with a recent facial injury that may be as the result of an assault, to contact police.”
The police have since recovered the weapon, and have confirmed that it was an airgun, despite having every appearance of a handgun.
This is the third attack on a University of York student in the last month. Albi Furlan, a second year student, was the victim of a random assault by four young men in Tang Hall on Sunday September 24, while a second year nurse who wishes to remain anonymous was attacked by two men on Bishopthorpe Road last week.
By Heidi Blake
DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR
