An attack early Tuesday morning on a Northwestern student is the second incident near the intersection of Sherman Avenue and Emerson Street this school year.

It is the sixth attack on a student on or near campus this fall, one short of the total number of last year’s attacks.

The Weinberg sophomore told the Evanston Police Department he was walking west on Emerson Street at about 2:45 a.m. when an unknown man wearing red clothing approached him and struck him in the back of the head with an object the student could not identify, EPD said.

The object left a two-inch wound on the back of the student’s head and he was at Evanston Northwestern Hospital, 2650 Ridge Ave., when police responded to the report. He was not checked in at the hospital Tuesday evening.

The 19-year-old student admitted to police he was intoxicated when the attack happened, EPD said.

No attempt was made to steal anything from the student, he told EPD. No words were exchanged between the student and the man who attacked him either, according to the EPD report.

The incident is under investigation, said Deputy Chief Joseph Bellino of EPD.

The second robbery of this year occurred near the same intersection, on the 1900 block of Sherman Avenue. A Weinberg senior’s purse was stolen shortly after midnight Oct. 11. The student chased the robber after her purse was taken but the robber left the area.

The first robbery on or near the Evanston Campus this year occurred Oct. 3 at Hinman Avenue and Clark Street.

Two other attacks – one in the sorority quad and the other between Pratt Avenue and Maple Avenue – occurred later that week.

The fifth attack, an armed robbery, occurred at about 1 a.m. Oct. 25 on the 900 block of Elmwood Avenue. The student’s wallet and cell phone were taken.

These incidents remain under investigation.

– Laura Olson