Two Southern Methodist University students who were wanted by campus police in connection with an assault that occurred in the early morning hours of September 20 have surrendered to authorities.
The victim, who is an SMU student, reported that three unknown individuals assaulted him in his room at the Ware Residential Commons, located on SMU’s main campus. He speculated that the assault might have been a form of retaliation linked to a prior incident. However, he said he did not recognize any of his attackers, according to Fox 4 KDFW.
SMU issued a campus-wide alert about the assault at around 2 a.m. on Friday, along with surveillance images of two of the three suspects captured by the dormitory’s security cameras. Police asked for help in identifying the two men seen in the video images, one of whom was wearing a ski mask.
The victim, who has not been publicly identified, described all three attackers as white males in their early twenties. The suspect seen in the video wearing the mask was dressed in a white shirt with black pants, while the second suspect was wearing all dark clothing. A third suspect not captured in the video was described as wearing dark pants and a light-colored shirt.
Shortly after campus security sent out the alert, law enforcement officials identified the two suspects in the video and issued warrants for their arrest, Fox 4 reported. The surveillance images played a crucial role in identifying the suspects, leading to their eventual surrender late Monday night.
While authorities confirmed the custody of the two suspects, details about their identities or any specific motives behind the attack have not been disclosed to the public.
Students told Fox 4 that dormitory access is restricted to those with a student key card, and the doors automatically lock upon closing, raising questions as to how the attackers accessed the victim’s dormitory.
SMU police thanked the University community for providing quick information about the suspects and asked that anyone with further information about the case contact campus police at 214-768-3333.
As of time of publication, SMU has not responded to inquiry from The Dallas Express for comment about the condition of the victim, or the status of the students who committed the alleged assault.
