The Syracuse Police Department arrested a teenager on Thursday in connection with the Feb. 9 assault on Ackerman Avenue that left three Syracuse University students of color injured. The arrest comes more than two months after the assault occurred.

The suspect, a 15-year-old girl, was charged with two counts of assault in the second degree and one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, according to a statement from SPD released on Sunday.

On Feb. 9, the suspect returned to a party in a house along the 800 block of Ackerman Avenue in an attempt to locate “some property she may have left there,” SPD Sgt. Matthew Malinowski said in the statement. Students present at the party during the assault previously told The Daily Orange they did not know the identity of the person who attacked them.

When she exited the house, the suspect saw one of her man companions in a physical altercation with people outside of the house, per the statement. She then struck people with a pellet gun that she retrieved from the car she had arrived in, Malinowski said.

Students present at the party have said three white men and one white woman approached the porch at the house. One of the men yelled, “What’s up n*gger” at a student of color, according to a statement written by students after the assault. A fight broke out between the student and the man, victims of the attack said. The white woman then repeatedly struck three students of color in the head with a pistol, the students’ statement said.

The woman also threatened to shoot the students before she and the three white men left the block, the students’ statement said.

SPD said the charges do not appear to be motivated by race after interviews with suspects, victims and witnesses. Students condemned SU’s Department of Public Safety in February for not considering the attack as racially-motivated.

SPD released a statement in February saying one white man and one white woman attacked three men along Ackerman Avenue. The Sunday release did not say if the man involved in the altercation was arrested. SPD’s has not publicly identified the race of the victims.

The suspect’s case is returnable to Family Court, according to Malinowski.

Days after the assault took place, a statement circulated around the SU campus accusing campus and city police of mishandling the assault. SU’s Student Association condemned DPS for a “lack of transparency” for the assault, which they said was racially-charged.

More than 300 students attended a forum on Feb. 18 to voice concerns about a lack of transparency and adequate communication about the assault.

In late March, DPS released a map detailing its jurisdiction for making arrests. The house where the assault took place, 814 Ackerman Ave., is not part of DPS’ official jurisdiction.

Published on April 14, 2019 at 8:09 pm

Contact Gabe: gkstern@syr.edu | @gabestern326