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Police investigating attempted sexual assault at Northeastern University

BOSTON — Police at Northeastern University are investigating an attempted sexual assault that took place in one of the school's academic buildings on Thursday afternoon, according to a release from law enforcement.

Officials described the alleged suspect as a bearded "dark-skinned Hispanic or black male," who is around 5-foot-10 to 6-feet in height. That suspect was last seen on an Orange Line train heading outbound, away from the Northeastern campus.

The alleged incident involved an NU student victim, according to police, and occurred around 12:50 p.m. on Thursday.

Students at Northeastern taking summer classes say the incident is upsetting and even more shocking to happen in broad daylight, inside a building they typically feel safe in.

"It's really terrible to hear, honestly, that it's happening at our school," said senior Louis Pratt.

"We really want the campus to be a safe place for everyone, people do not have to go to class and worry about that sort of thing, but the reality is this is an issue in some places."

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Pratt says campus housing is typically secure; students would need keys and an ID to get inside.

"They're even strict on how many people you can let into your building and, if you're not from that building, you can't sign yourself in," another student added.

But academic buildings typically are left open to students during the day.

"The residential buildings here have pretty high security, you need a card to get in," Pratt said. "But the academic buildings, I guess anyone could theoretically just walk in."

Police are urging students to be aware of their surroundings as usual when walking around campus and to stay vigilant.