One person was arrested Friday evening after a group of Jewish students on the University of Pittsburgh campus was attacked by an individual “yielding a bottle,” the university said in a statement.
The suspect was identified as Jarrett Buba, according to court documents. He had no known affiliation to the school, according to the the university, and was “immediately arrested.”
Buba was charged with two counts of simple assault, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of recklessly endangering another person, two counts of harassment and one count of resisting arrest, per online records.
According to the criminal complaint, two students wearing Jewish yarmulkes said they were walking on campus near Forbes Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard when one of them made eye contact with Buba, who was seated at a table across the street. In the complaint, Buba was described as wearing a keffiyeh, a scarf that has become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.
Surveillance video shows Buba running across the street and up to the two students, who were traveling with a group, according to the complaint. The two students say they were attacked from behind with a green glass sparkling water bottle, one on the right cheek and the other on the back of the neck, resulting in “several superficial lacerations.”
One of the victims struck Buba and tackled him to the ground to detain him while waiting for police, who arrived and eventually arrested Buba.
The two students were treated on scene, and the university said officials contacted the Hillel University Center and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to offer support to students.
“While there is not believed to be any ongoing threat to the public stemming from this incident, we recognize that incidents like these are unsettling to our Pitt community,” the university said in its statement. “To be clear: Neither acts of violence nor antisemitism will be tolerated.”
The incident occurred near the Cathedral of Learning, a central building on the university’s main campus.
The University of Pittsburgh Police Department said it did not believe the incident was connected to an earlier violent incident reported at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh — which is located across the street from the Cathedral of Learning. Pittsburgh Public Safety said a man was shot in the leg near the complex around 5:30 p.m. and was transported in stable condition.
The University of Pittsburgh’s fall semester commenced this past Monday.
Police said the investigation is ongoing, and the university confirmed that “local and federal partners” are supporting efforts.
Agents from FBI’s Pittsburgh field office are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, according to the criminal complaint.
Joe Kottke is an assignment editor at NBC News.
