News: City of Madison

UW student sustains facial injuries after near-campus mugging

A University of Wisconsin student sustained significant facial injuries after an alleged near-campus mugging.

The incident occurred on North Broom Street between Gorham Street and State Street early Sunday morning, a Madison Police Department report said. 

According to the report, the victim was allegedly struck from behind, with what he said was a closed fist. He said one suspect held him down, while another went through his pockets.

Still, the student, 20, did not immediately report the incident to police, claiming the extent of the injuries were unclear until after a Tuesday clinic appointment, MPD spokesperson Joel DeSpain said.

DeSpain said it is unclear why the victim did not report the robbery.

He said the victim did not seek medical attention for his injuries until Tuesday because he did not want to burden his parents with the bill. DeSpain also said the victim did not seek immediate medical attention because he did not realize how serious his injuries were.

The victim sustained fractures to bones around his left eye, and some on his cheek, DeSpain said. 

DeSpain said MPD has not seen many crimes of this kind in the past couple months. Over the summer, he said there was a city-wide rash of robberies.

He also said students are only sporadically the victims of this kind of crime and are more likely to be victims of burglaries — non-violent break-ins — than robberies.

There are currently no suspects, but a detective will be assigned to the case, DeSpain said.

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