The assault of two University College of the Cayman Islands students last week was apparently done in retaliation for an attack on another UCCI student that occurred off campus the day before.
Royal Cayman Islands Police have confirmed that a 17-year-old male was assaulted Monday, 10 September, on a shortcut path UCCI students often take that is beside John Gray High School near Walkers Road.
The 17-year-old who was assaulted is a student pursuing a certificate in business at the college, according to his family members.
A police report on the incident states the student was ‘jumped by an unknown number of guys,’ who allegedly took a gold chain from him and broke his glasses in the attack.
The teen’s mother, who asked that the Caymanian Compass not release her name, said her son appeared bruised and shaken when she saw him later in the day. But she said he refused to speak about what happened and was never taken to hospital.
‘He was hit in the head, and he was bruised to the back,’ she said. ‘When I picked him up…he didn’t wish to talk about it at the time. I didn’t know about it until day two (11 September.)’
‘The same guys who attacked him on day one (10 September) tried to attack him again on day two (11 September). So, he called his cousin and said ‘these guys are going to attack me again.”
Later on the morning of 11 September, police said two grown men showed up on campus with a baseball bat and assaulted a 16-year-old UCCI student and a 17-year-old student in the campus cafeteria.
The mother of the 17-year-old student who was attacked on Monday said she contacted a UCCI official on 11 September about the off campus incident. But police said they didn’t become aware of the attack until this past Monday, 17 September, when a report was made on the incident.
The 23-year-old and 24-year-old men who were allegedly involved in the retaliatory attack on Tuesday have been released on police bail and had not been charged in the incident at press time.
No arrests had been made in connection with the Monday assault on the 17-year-old student as of press time.
Separate incident
The two assaults are not believed to be connected to another incident that occurred around 8.30am Monday inside a bathroom at a UCCI building.
In that case, an 18-year-old student was badly injured by a 17-year-old who has since been charged in connection with the attack. The suspect’s name is being withheld by the Compass because of his age.
UCCI officials had said the suspect was not a student. However, they later said the 17-year-old suspect was on campus that day to enquire about courses.
School President Hassan Syed said he believed the fight that broke out in the bathroom between the two teenagers was over a girl.
The 18-year-old suffered a skull fracture and blurred vision and was being flown to a Miami hospital for treatment on Tuesday.
UCCI officials have taken numerous steps to increase security precautions at the campus since the two fights occurred last week. Security guards are now stationed at the school’s main entrance and are checking for UCCI identification cards. Visitors are expected to register with security and state their business when entering the campus.
Closed circuit cameras will soon be set up to monitor the campus and all students and faculty are being asked to wear their school ID’s while at the college.
Additional security staff and RCIPS patrols have been added to keep watch on the campus.
Related Videos
