Postdoctoral researcher seriously assaulted on campus

A post-doctoral researcher from the University of Liverpool was assaulted on campus last week, resulting in him being hospitalised and receiving emergency surgery.

An email, which The Tab believe was sent to Life Sciences and Earth Sciences students on the 18th November, stated that the serious assault took place on the Crown Place site on Wednesday evening (16th November). Security has been informed and security patrols and Campus police officers are “paying extra attention to this part of the campus including the Life and Biosciences site”.

The email sent to a large number of students on campus

The email also stated that campus security had confirmed that “whilst there has been a rise in anti-social behaviour in the past couple of weeks, this is an isolated assault and there hasn’t been a similar incident for many years”.

The email, from Kate Jones the Institute Manager at the Institute of Integrative Biology, ended by asking staff and students to be “extra vigilant” on campus after dark and “when possible walk with someone else”. She also mentioned that security can provide a chaperone service on request, but this is only on campus property during hours of darkness.

Rebecca, a second year music and biology student said: “What an awful incident, I hope he recovers. I’m always around that area for my degree – pretty scary.” 

The University responded with the following statement:

“At approximately 5.50pm on Wednesday, 16 November a male member of staff was assaulted in the vicinity of Crown Place by an unknown male. The man received treatment for an injury to his face and is now recovering at home.

“The matter was reported to the police and a proactive investigation into the full circumstances of the incident is ongoing with CCTV from the campus being examined.

“As a result of the incident security patrols of the area have been increased and the Campus Police Officer has adjusted his hours to support the University’s security team and to provide further reassurance to students and staff.

“Incidents like these are extremely rare and I would like to reassure all students and staff that we have a proactive and vigilant security team on campus and also in and around our halls of residence in order to support a safe and secure crime-free environment for the University community. 

“I would also like to remind both students and staff to call security services immediately should you see any suspicious activity on campus. Security can be reached on 2222 from an internal phone or 0151 794 2222.”