Police have a warning for young women in the College Area after a man attacked a student leaving her bruised and battered.
It happened near a church at the corner of Campanile Drive and Montezuma Road early Friday morning. The crime was bold because the area is fairly lit.
Randi Margarian and Kysa Usselton say their friend was attacked as she walked home around 3:00 a.m. The 19-year-old victim suffered a black eye, a swollen cheek and a big bruise on one of her arms.
Police released a sketch of the attacker Friday evening. He's believe to be in his 30's, about 5'10" to six feet tall, between 180 and 200 pounds with blond hair.
NBC San Diego showed the sketch to several neighbors, but no one we talked to recognized him. Neighbors in the area say they didn't hear anything during the attack. The victim's friend says, "she didn't scream or anything because she was in such shock."
Police say the attacker grabbed the victim by the arm with one hand and punched her in the face with the other, but the college student managed to run away.
This part of College Area is known for being a party scene but the victim's friends say she wasn't drunk. They said she was simply walking home alone from a friend's house.
"Seeing her today come over shaken up, it's like [it] makes us come to the realization it's really scary and we need to be more aware," Usselton said.
Police are investigating whether this attack is linked to another one last week near Crawford High School. In the meantime, they say if you do need to go anywhere at night in this neighborhood, be sure to not walk alone.
