A man accused of attacking and injuring Jewish students with a glass bottle near the University of Pittsburgh tried to hide his identity from police by giving them multiple fake names as the violent assault is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
An officer on duty responded to the scene when he saw a group of people yelling for help as they held down a man wearing a red sweatshirt and a Keffiyeh, according to WTAE.
Officials identified the man as Jarrett Buba, who continued to resist arrest while yelling "no."
Eventually, they restrained Buba and placed him in a patrol car.
The victims told law enforcement officials that the suspect had used a broken green glass bottle to attack them.
One victim was bleeding from multiple lacerations to their neck.
He spotted Buba and seemingly made eye contact with the suspect, who was sitting in Schenley Plaza, while walking at the corner of Forbes and Bigelow.
He initially thought nothing of it until he and the other victim were hit from behind.
Both students were wearing Jewish yarmulkes at the time of the assault.
While in custody, the suspect gave officials several false names, stalling a positive identification.
The FBI Pittsburgh Bureau Office sent agents to the scene to investigate it as a possible hate crime.
In a statement Friday night, a spokesperson with the University of Pittsburgh called the incident "appalling" and said "antisemitism will not be tolerated."
"Upon learning about this incident, Pitt leadership contacted Hillel University Center to offer support to our students and also connected with our partners at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh," read the statement.
"We are grateful to our Pitt Police officers for their swift action and our Student Affairs team for their ongoing student support."
Shawn Brokos of the Jewish Federation confirmed the attack and said the organization is in contact with law enforcement.
Brokos also told WTAE that the students were walking to Shabbat services when confronted by Buba.
The father of one of the victims told the media outlet that his son is a senior at Pitt and active within the Pittsburgh Jewish community.
Read the University statement on tonight’s incident near the Cathedral: https://t.co/HTiRiBKfSL
— University of Pittsburgh (@PittTweet) August 31, 2024
Additional details will be released as we are able, as this is an open investigation.
