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Auraria Campus Attacker Has Distinct Physical Characteristic

DENVER (CBS4)- Police hope to catch a man responsible for a violent attack on the Auraria Campus. They say he has a distinct physical characteristic that may help people recognize him.

"Because he does frequent the area, it's important we get this information out," said Denver Police spokeswoman Raquel Lopez.

Police in Denver say the suspect is a so-called "campus regular." It is not known if he is a student but hope one feature will help them track him down-- a red discoloration in his lips.

"The person we're looking for has a discolored lip," said Lopez.

Auraria attack suspect
A sketch of an attack suspect on the Auraria Campus (credit: Denver Police)

The attack happened at midday last Saturday on the second floor of a classroom building where any number of students could have seen or been moving about.

The victim was able to fight herself free and run away, but there were no witnesses and no cameras in the hallway. Now a search is underway for the suspect among a sea of people.

auraria hallway2
Hallway of Auraria campus building (credit: CBS)

Campus police are bringing attention to the emergency phones scattered across the grounds, hoping people will use them to catch suspects.

campus emergency phone
Emergency phone on campus (credit: CBS)

The suspect is described as a black male with a beard and thin build in his 40s. He was wearing black clothing from head to toe on Saturday.

Police said they could not release more details on the incident, in order to avoid targeting the victim.

Additional Information From The Denver Police Department

Anyone with information is asked to call Denver police at (720) 913-2000. Remain anonymous and call Crime Stoppers at (720) 913-STOP (7867). Text to CRIMES (274637) then title DMCS and enter the message or send an e-mail to metro-denvercrimestoppers.com.

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