Concern is increasing at the University of British Columbia (UBC) as the RCMP hunts for an individual believed to be responsible for six sexual assaults — all of which targeted women on campus as they walked home alone in the early hours of the morning.
University administrators described the serial nature of the assaults as “unusual,” and their increase in intensity over the last month has instilled what UBC president Stephen Toope calls “a climate of fear.” In one October assault, a woman was grabbed from behind, dragged, and punched in the face before she managed to break free.
Alongside the university’s own increase in security measures, police have deployed members of their Emergency Response Team. While Sergeant Peter Thiessen of the RCMP is confident that police will find the perpetrator, he said that: “escalation in this type of investigating is always a concern.”
With files from CTV News
