Violent students at large
An internal investigation into a violent assault on a student in Derwent Bar has so far been unsuccessful in identifying the attackers.
First year Chris Wiggins was taken to hospital after being attacked by a group of other students during a screening of the Scotland-Wales Six Nations match on Saturday, February 11.
Security Operations Manager Rob Little has confirmed that the attackers, believed to be students, have not yet been identified and remain at large. However, he added that the Security Department believed it was “highly likely” that they would be found eventually.
Little confirmed that the investigation has been hampered by the fact that all the lights were turned off in the dining hall area during the match, seriously reducing the efficacy of the bar’s CCTV equipment. Staff working at the bar have been able to “provide descriptions and these have been passed on to provosts and academic registrars.” It is hoped that the suspects will be identified swiftly using the details obtained.
Little also responded to claims made by both students and staff in the bar that the security response took “at least 15 minutes” to arrive at the scene of the incident. He disputed that the response took 15 minutes but said “staff have been advised of this allegation and will look to make sure this doesn’t happen in the future.” He said part of the reason for the late response was that the security foot patrol had been called to Alcuin shortly before hand. He conceded that the length of time before the response arrived was “unfortunate and unusual”, but said that the incident would nonetheless not affect the University’s security procedures.
Wiggins, who suffered blows to the head and chest, claimed that the assailants were Welsh fans while he had been “cheering for Scotland”, and that “on the way out they turned over the table. I said something and then they started to hit me.”
The fighting in the dining hall was broken up but continued in the hallway between Derwent bar and JCR, where Wiggins claimed he was knocked to the floor and kicked repeatedly in the head until he was taken into the JCR for his own protection.
An ambulance was called to take Wiggins to York District Hospital where tests were carried out and he was released to return home that night.
