Suspect identified in University of Minnesota hockey player assault
A suspect has been identified in the September assault of a University of Minnesota student, police said on Thursday.
According to a police report, two people assaulted a U of M student and hockey player. The report states it happened near Fourth Street and 16th Avenue just before 11 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20.
Sources previously told WCCO they feared the injuries would end his ability to play. The student is now back practicing with the hockey team.
The U sent a crime alert out warning other students after it happened. On Tuesday, an additional alert went out with photos of a man whom police believe to be involved with the assault.
Students on campus said they are upset the photos did not come out sooner.
"Insane to me to be honest. They really should have let us known sooner," said Manuel Hernandez-Navarro, a student on campus.
"If they are trying to really identify this person, they should've done this before," said student Beth Osborne. "Because now it just seems like they didn't care enough to do it. Which isn't ideal."
The University of Minnesota Police Department hasn't said if it's connected to any other crimes in the area.
Gophers men's hockey coach Bob Motzko says he can't talk about what happened, but that the player is now back on the ice.
"My goodness, can he skate. Like, he is electric level of skating. And we hope very soon that he's going to be back," said Motzko. "It's really noticeable and we're excited to get him back."
Police are not releasing the victim's name to protect his privacy. They haven't disclosed whether any arrests have been made.