A 23 year old man was assaulted in the Cowley area on Monday evening by a white teenager wielding a baseball bat.
The victim was walking along the footpath between Barracks Lane and Marsh Road just before 6pm when he was hit from behind by the perpetrator. The youth, described as about 16 years old, 5ft 7ins, and well built, struck the man in the back of his thigh with a baseball bat before leaving the area with two other young men. All three then walked in the direction of Marsh Road.
The culprit was wearing a white top with a black hoodie over the top and one of his companions was described as black, around 14-years-old, 5ft 3ins, and well built. He was wearing a dark woollen hat, a dark jacket, and a purple school uniform.
The victim did not require hospitalisation for his injuries although according to police he was left with, “a bruise and a lump on his thigh”.
Police have opened an investigation into the assault and have appealed for any witnesses who may have seen “a group of boys carrying a bat in the area on Monday evening”.
Oxford Spires Academy, a secondary school located just off Barracks Lane, confirmed to Cherwell that their pupils wear purple uniforms. Headmistress Susan Croft stated, “We are currently doing some investigating as to who potentially saw anything related to the incident.”
One local resident, James Styring, told Cherwell that although he hadn’t ever been a victim himself, he did know a secondary school student who was mugged recently for his phone and, in a separate incident, threatened by three young men with knives.
He added, “I think these kind of youths are less of a problem for older adults, but for teenagers and younger people, who are more likely to be targeted, they can be very intimidating.”
Students seem not to share this concern however, with one second year who lives near the Regal commenting, “Generally there are no problems with local residents other than the occasional, and probably well founded, noise complaint. I’ve only felt intimidated once when my friends and I were approached by a guy on the way home but there was no real incident.”
