Possible connection in three battery cases

Three incidents of battery that occurred Friday night may be connected, police said.A man was walking toward the corner of Chicago Avenue and Clark Street around 8:30 p.m. when a group of about four men approached him and punched him in the jaw, said Evanston Police Cmdr. Tom Guenther. The men fled north on Chicago Avenue without taking anything.

About 10 minutes later, another man was walking east on the 500 block of Church Street when a group of three or four black men struck him from behind, Guenther said. The group of men fled east on Clark Street.

The man’s glasses fell off and disappeared when he was struck, so he reported the crime as a robbery, Guenther said.

A third man was attacked around 8:45 p.m. near the intersection of Clark Street and Hinman Avenue, Guenther said. The man told police he was punched and pushed down by a group of four black men.

Guenther said police believe the cases are connected because they occurred at similar times and geographic areas. All three victims described their attackers as a group of men in their late teens, he said.

Police are still investigating.

Drunk student found on ground outside of ElderA Northwestern student was found unable to stand outside of Elder Hall on Sunday morning, police said.

Police responded to a call regarding an intoxicated student outside Elder Hall, 2400 Sheridan Rd., at 12:37 a.m. Sunday, said University Police Deputy Chief Dan McAleer. The student was lying on the ground on Colfax Street across from the dorm with another student.

McAleer said police could smell alcohol on the students, who both admitted to drinking alcohol. The students told police they had been to a party at a house on Simpson Street but were unable to give the address.

Paramedics took the student who was unable to stand to Evanston Hospital, 2650 Ridge Ave.

Both students were referred to Student Affairs.