USC notified of incident in late afternoon, students notified at 9:30 pm
A woman was raped and robbed near the East Quad residence hall early Tuesday morning, according to a Carolina Alert.
Between midnight and 1 a.m. Tuesday, a woman was walking on the 1400 block of Blossom Street when she was approached by a man who sexually assaulted her, according to the alert.
He took her wallet and phone, and she believed him to be armed, though she did not see a weapon, the alert said. The man then fled the area.
“We don’t know of an immediate threat to the university,” Capt. Eric Grabski, a spokesman for the USC Division of Law Enforcement and Safety, said Tuesday night.
Whether or not the victim is a USC student is unknown, according to university spokesman Wes Hickman.
The suspect is described as a black male between 20 and 30 years old wearing all black and a hat, which may have been a baseball cap, according to the alert. He is described as being between 5 feet, 7 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches tall.
An incident report was not immediately available Tuesday night.
USC was notified of the incident by a hospital “late in the afternoon,” Hickman said.
Students received a text message alert shortly after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. The university waited to confirm details before sending the message, Hickman said.
“People wanted to make sure all the facts were straight before we sent anything out,” Hickman said.
The university usually reserves text message alerts for active threats to campus but decided to send an alert Tuesday because of the nature of the crime, Hickman said.
The State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is assisting USC police with the investigation because they can provide additional resources, according to Hickman. Under state law, USC is required to notify SLED of sexual assaults on campus.
The incident follows a pair of armed robberies near campus last week, one late Wednesday night and one early Friday morning.
Asked if he thought campus was safe, Hickman encouraged students and community members to follow safety tips from USC police.
They include: walking along well-lit and well-traveled routes, using late night shuttle services, driving between destinations, making a plan before going out, staying aware of surroundings and traveling in groups.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to report it to Crimestoppers at 1-888-271-6372 (CRIME-SC) or midlandscrimestoppers.com.