Freshman Philip Aftuck is spending his second semester of college back home with his jaw wired shut for the next four to six weeks, and will be on a strictly liquid diet.
Aftuck was reportedly assaulted in The Exchange bar two weekends ago and later hospitalized due to major injuries to his jaw.
The 19-year-old student told the Metropolitan Police at the scene that the assailant is a GW student and that he ran away after the attack on the night of Feb. 2, according to a police report. The report stated that the assailant punched Aftuck in the face at about midnight and that the freshman was “unsure why the attack occurred.” No arrests have yet been made.
Aftuck was taken to the hospital immediately after the incident because of a dislocated jaw, said John Galmiche, a friend who was at The Exchange the night of the incident.
“Philip told me that this was not provoked.” Galmiche said. “He said he had his hands in his pocket when it happened.”
Galmiche, who is president of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, of which Aftuck is a member, added that no one he has spoken to witnessed the attack.
The suspect is a white male wearing a camouflage hat and gray shirt, Aftuck told MPD. The police report also stated that the assailant was also under the influence of alcohol.
The manager of The Exchange, who was on duty during the incident, said it was a one-sided assault rather than a fight. He declined to give his name or comment further and referred questions to the owner, who is on vacation.
MPD is investigating the incident because it occurred off campus, said University Police Chief Dolores Stafford. Student Judicial Services is investigating the case, said Galmiche, who has given them his account of the assault. SJS does not typically comment on ongoing investigations or disciplinary matters, and has not returned an e-mail from The Hatchet.
Aftuck said that he has been released from GW Hospital and is now recovering at his home in Atlanta. “I don’t know when I will return since my jaw is still in a great deal of pain,” Aftuck said in an e-mail Friday.
He declined to comment further because he said he did not want to jeopardize the investigation.
-David Ceasar contributed to this report.
