An unknown suspect attacked a 21-year-old senior in her home Halloween night, which friends say resulted in her withdrawal from the university.

Sheriffs said the victim and her three roommates were asleep in their 6600 block, Trigo Road apartment when a male entered her house through an unlocked sliding glass door.

Isla Vista Foot Patrol Lt. Russ Birchim said the victim woke up at approximately 4 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 1 to a male beating her with a beer bottle.

“She screamed and it woke up her roommates, and he fled through the sliding glass door. The room was dark and all she could indicate was that the attacker was a male,” Birchim said. “UCPD was the first to arrive on the scene because they were closest, and the Foot Patrol arrived soon after.”

Birchim said deputies at the scene found a beer bottle on the bed, which they took for fingerprinting. Later the victim’s roommate called the IVFP and said she had found a baseball bat in the front yard, which was also submitted for fingerprinting.

“It’s a difficult case to investigate because there were so many people out on the street that night,” he said.

The victim’s friend, senior mechanical engineering major Anna Bosin, said the victim went to her parents’ house the day after the attack and that it is questionable whether she will return to the university.

“She withdrew from her classes and doesn’t plan on coming back here. She was a senior, and now she’s trying to transfer,” she said.

Birchim said the victim suffered a laceration on her head. An ambulance arrived at her apartment, but she was not transferred to a hospital.

Bosin said her friend was unable to identify her attacker because he was wearing a ski mask.

“The guy wailed on her about 10-15 times. She said it felt like a hammer. He was hitting her on the back and the right side of her head,” she said.

Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Michael Young said safety in I.V. is an issue that needs to be closely examined.

“I think that we, the faculty and the students, as a community, need to look hard at the issue of safety and make some tough decisions about what we are going to do. We have some tough soul searching to do,” he said.

Bosin said the victim thought it was important for others to know about the attack.

“She feels it’s important for people to know, especially women who live alone. It’s just not enough to lock your doors. Word has spread quickly to the wrong type of people that women live alone, and in an area where you have such a condensed population, you have to take precautions,” she said. “It’s a wake-up call that you have to do more to protect yourself.”

IVFP encourages anyone with information regarding the incident to contact its office at 681-4179.

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