Reported off-campus assaults on several University of Oregon fraternity members on October 27, 2018, generated many questions on social media. UOPD has collected the following information:
Initial inquiry by UOPD indicates that several members of a UO fraternity who had attended a Friday night off-campus party at a live-out residence, were verbally and physically harassed around 2:00 a.m. Saturday on the street in the area of 14th Avenue and High Street by three unknown males. There were multiple incidents related to the same suspects and the same associated group of fraternity members.
UOPD learned about this situation on Sunday, October 28 and was still seeking information on October 29. It was not reported to UOPD; it was reported to Eugene Police and occurred about five blocks west of UO campus property. Eugene Police searched for the suspects in the area at the time of the report early Saturday morning but did not find them.
Indications are that the suspects did not interact with the victims randomly, but rather the suspects may have attempted to attend the live-out party, and were either ejected or denied entry.
Some of the fraternity members sustained injuries and reportedly received medical treatment.
UOPD will connect with Eugene Police on the progress of the investigation, and involved students will be offered support resources through the Office of the Dean of Students.
There do not appear to be any reported stabbings, contrary to some speculation on social media. There have been no reports of similar incidents involving women, contrary to some speculation on social media.
The university was not immediately notified of this situation. However, this is not a situation that would be broadcast as an alert.
The University of Oregon sends Campus Crime Alerts to all students and employees through official uoregon.edu email when certain crimes are reported on campus property and immediately adjacent public property. The UO will also send UO Alerts emergency notifications when there are imminent threats reported or discovered for that same campus property. This practice is consistent with federal law and is standard at peer institutions nationally.
The UO does not receive timely and accurate information for incidents that occur outside its patrol and boundaries, and the UO will not send notices for such off-campus incidents. UOPD may sometimes issue "Safety/Security Advisories" by email regarding general safety and security practices and crime prevention.
Students, employees, and families can find information about crime in the City of Eugene on the website for the Eugene Police Department. Information about on-campus and off-campus crime can be found at crimereports.com.