By Jake SpringThe Summer NorthwesternAgraduate student was assaulted Friday while chasing a man he thought was trespassing in the McManus Living-Learning Center, said Lieutenant Ron Godby of University Police.The student reported that a man opened the door to his sixth-floor residence at about 3 p.m. but that the suspect said he was looking for someone else. McManus is the dorm for Northwestern’s graduate students.”The way (the suspect) said it, the victim figured out he wasn’t being truthful,” Godby said.When the suspect attempted to flee, the victim gave chase. During the chase, the perpetrator turned and tried to strike the victim, Godby said. The victim then stopped chasing the man to call police. The student described the suspect as a bald, black male of stocky build in his late 20s, Godby said. The man was seen wearing a red shirt and is about 5 feet 10 inches.Two other crime reports made the following Monday may have involved the same offender, Godby said. An NU employee reported a suspicious person meeting the same description but wearing different clothes in the Frances Searle Building at about 10 a.m., Godby said. A witness reported the suspect was going through unattended purses. The witness did not attempt to make contact but called University Police. When police arrived, they were unable to locate the man, Godby said. Just after 5 p.m., an NU student reported a theft had occurred that morning. She said property valued at under $300 was stolen from her purse in Frances Searle between 9 a.m. and 12 a.m., Godby said.Police said they think the reported suspicious person committed the theft. The common description may link the theft with the McManus trespassing and assault case. All three incidents are under investigation by University Police, Godby said.”We have offenders in the area that match the description,” he said. “We’ll be putting together photographic lineups.”

Reach Jake Spring at [email protected].