VCU Police needs help finding those who assaulted woman on Halloween, severely injuring her face
Nov 08, 2024
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Police is asking for the public's assistance in finding who was involved in the assault of a woman on Halloween night.
The night of Oct. 31, VCU Police received a call from the VCU Medical Center's emergency room about an assault.
Investigators learned that, around 11:30 p.m., an altercation took place among a large group of people at the intersection of the 700 block of West Cary Street and South Laurel Street. The group was gathered outside of a restaurant, which its owner later confirmed was Tito's Taqueria and Bar.
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"Our victim had asked a question of another patron in the line for that establishment -- [asking] if tickets were needed to enter -- and some derogatory words were shared ... [then] they started arguing," said David Kelly, detective sergeant of investigations for VCU Police. "[It] turned into a fight, where two females were fighting."
Kelly said that one of the females then attacked the victim, followed by a man who jumped in and also attacked her.
According to police, the victim is affiliated with VCU and had significant injuries to her face. Though she was later discharged from the hospital, she continues to go through ongoing medical treatment due to injuries impacting her eye.
Surveillance video given to 8News by VCU Police shows an angle of what occurred, but police are asking for more help as they say about 30 people were recording the incident.
Kelly hopes those people can aid in helping police see more of what occurred and identify any suspects. He explained that views from a more direct, face-level perspective are much more helpful than a camera that's several feet off of the ground.
(Video provided by VCU Police.)
8News spoke with the co-owner of Tito's Taqueria and Bar, Tito Pandilla. While he wasn't at the bar that night, as he was out trick-or-treating with his family, he was upset to hear about the attack.
"That's a sad thing, when somebody starts hitting somebody -- [then] somebody comes in, then somebody else comes in, and then you'll see a bunch of people just hitting random people [who] don't even know what's really happened. They're just drunken dummies," Pandilla said. "I hope they find out who hit the woman, or find out who started the problem and [make them] pay for it because it's not right — it's not right at all."
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact the VCU Police Department. Tips can also be submitted to Metro Richmond Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000. You may do so anonymously.
This is a developing story, stick with 8News for updates.