Two white University of Arizona students have been arrested and charged for the brutal beating of a Black student who they kicked, punched and called the n-word.
The two suspects identified as Matthew Frazier and Matthew Rawlings, reportedly didn’t even know the student they assaulted, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
On Friday the two underclassmen in the school’s business college, were arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor. The incident occurred three days earlier near the school’s Arbol de la Vida dormitory, Tucson.com reports.
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At least 300 protesters took to the streets to demanding the two students’ immediate expulsion from the university as they held signs and chanted “We Want Justice” and “Black Lives Matter.” They also argued that the school’s campus is unsafe for students of color and demanded increased safety measures.
“This has a very big and obviously negative impact on students’ mental health, their sense of belonging, and their feeling of safety campus. It makes me sad,” said KC Williams, the school’s director of African American Student Affairs.
A report on the matter was released a day earlier and the school’s President Robert C. Robbins vowed they would “aggressively pursue all avenues of justice”.
The black student reportedly the incident to campus police and detailed the assault saying Frazier and Rawlings called him the N-word, charged and tackled him, according to the report.
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Violent Encounter
The student whose identity is being withheld, also said the suspects punched him in his head and kicked him repeatedly as he lay on the ground. The student reported minor scrapes on his hand, elbow and knees, according to the report. A witness who reportedly did not know the attackers, confirmed the victim’s report.
Rawlings admitted that he drank alcohol and blamed the victim saying he “yelled at him”. His friend, Frazier denied drinking and said he never left the house, but had blood on his shirt, according to reports.