A 19-year-old male UW-Madison student was a victim of battery and attempted armed robbery in the campus area Friday night.
According to a Madison Police Department news release Monday, the victim was walking down the middle of the street on the 500 block of Conklin Place at approximately 10:48 p.m. when a group of young men approached him. One of the suspects, age 14, allegedly pulled out a knife and demanded the victim's wallet.
The victim was then allegedly punched in the head by both the 14-year-old and another 16-year-old suspect. The UW student told MPD he feared being stabbed.
At this point, a cab driver drove into the area. The victim yelled out to the driver to call the police and got into the cab to get away. As he entered the vehicle, the 14-year-old suspect allegedly smashed his knife down onto the taxi.
According to MPD Public Information Officer Joel DeSpain, the victim did not sustain any serious injuries.
"He got hit on the head, but he should be fine," DeSpain said.
The police were able to arrest two of the young men in the group. The other two possible suspects, however, had not done anything explicit to warrant arrest.
"There were two others in the group, but we didn't have enough to arrest them," DeSpain said. "[They] were 14 and 17 [years old]."
The 14-year-old suspect has been tentatively charged with attempted armed robbery and battery, and the 16-year-old has been tentatively charged with battery. DeSpain said both have been taken to the juvenile reception center.
No statements have been made as to why the suspects displayed this violent behavior.
"One of [the suspects] claimed that the victim had tried to trip one of them," DeSpain said. "He seemed to make up the story."
DeSpain said this type of behavior among this younger age group has not necessarily been an issue in the area. However, he mentioned a string of strong-armed robberies two weeks ago involving two suspects in their early 20s. He said it is unclear whether the incident Friday was linked in any way to the strong-armed robberies.
"It doesn't seem to be so, just because of the difference in age," DeSpain said.
