Female City College student punches attacker. He runs away.

“I would’ve went for his nuts instead,” said Raquel Calderon regarding her schoolmate “that got rushed by some dude.”

On May 22, the San Diego Community College School District sent out a mass email regarding a female City College student who was attacked when approaching her vehicle in the PS100 Building last Friday (May 19) at 4:30 p.m.

“She’s a bad-ass,” said Lauren O., a 28-year-old pre-med student at City College.

During finals-week, many students on campus were cheering on the unidentified student who “fought back.”

The mass email stated that the female saw the man hiding by the front bumper of her vehicle, then “the [male] subject approached the student so she threw water on him … [he] then placed the student in a ‘bear hug.’”

“Then blaaap,” said a male City College student who read about the incident on his smartphone, “she socked him up.”

The email said that after the student punched the Hispanic or black male in the face, he ran away towards the fifth floor of the parking structure.

On May 24, at 1:39 p.m., two campus policewomen were posted up in their truck outside of the ground level of the PS100 Building (around the corner from C and 17th streets). They couldn’t comment on the incident, but they did say to reach out to the College Police office; which was about 50-75 feet away from where they were parked.

“According to the victim, it happened pretty fast,” said Lt. Zizzo from the San Diego Community College District Police Department. “This was an incident happening where the most appropriate action by the victim was to call the police immediately when she was able to.”

The policewomen said that each floor in the parking structure has a callbox that connects directly to the college police station.

Zizzo had another suggestion for students or staff who have a smartphone or a tablet — and a few minutes. “As far as the Livesafe App, we always encourage everyone to download and utilize the app.”

It is a multi-purpose application that connects the police department and the general public (students, faculty and staff). It is also a safety monitor which allows people to report suspicious activity or safety concerns with a click of a “report tips” button.

“I just downloaded the app,” said Aisha, a nursing student at City College. She recalls the Diana Gonzalez murder on campus in 2010. “I was in my trigonometry class when that happened, and I still worry when I have class at night. It’s dark in certain areas, and this (app) will be extremely beneficial.”

Aisha particularly referred to the SafeWalk function – which allows the police to virtually walk the user (via direct communication and GPS) — from point A to point B.

“Instant emergency help with location sharing” is another feature that can speed up the process of the emergency responders. “The app has been a positive addition to the way that we can provide service to our students, faculty, and staff,” Zizzo said. “The more tools we have only makes our job that much easier.”

Zizzo added that in March of 2017, City College was the only college in the district to use the app. “I’m sure that after they see the success of LiveSafe, the other campuses will follow.”

From August 2016 to March 2017, the City College Police Department has received (solely from the app) 47 tips, 18 emergencies and 130 requests for safety walks (escorts).

Calderon and Lauren said that they both feel safe at City College, especially with the app and call-boxes.

Regarding the attacker last Friday; “no idea who he is, so he is not in custody at this time,” Zizzo said.