Grad student recovering from robbery, assault

It was 7:35 p.m. Monday night. A graduate student was within a block of his home, near 42nd and Locust streets, when a man stopped him and asked for the time. The next thing the student knew, he awoke three hours later in the hospital. According to witness accounts of the incident, the man had hit the student over the head with a "blunt object." The man then took the students' wallet, which contained $30 and credit cards. Witnesses called University Police, the student said, but refused to file a report because "they thought they could be at risk." The graduate student was then rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. "I have no memory of the incident," said a School of Arts and Sciences graduate student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "I woke up in the hospital." The student said a University Police officer informed him once at HUP of what happened based upon witnesses' accounts. "The police officer told me that somebody asked me for the time," the student said. "I looked down at my watch and he hit me. "I think the police reached the scene really quickly," the student added. The student, who was released from HUP today, said he does not resent witnesses for not coming forward to file reports. "I'm thankful that at least somebody called to report the crime," the student said. "I find this a little disconcerting, but I understand. They saw this guy do something really violent, and they were scared themselves." The student said he considers himself fortunate the incident was not more serious. "I feel that I got lucky," the student said. "He hit me real hard in the head. If he didn't knock me out as cold as he did, he might have hit me again. I might have died." He said the robbery would have long-term consequences for him. "This definitely has made a strong impact on my life," the student said. "I would have been happy to get a job in Chicago. Now I would prefer a safer place. "I used to think it couldn't happen to me," the student said. "I was one block from my house. It was the last place I would have thought I could be mugged." The student believed he was a target because he was dressed in a suit, which could attract attention. He said the area was poorly lit and it was difficult to see someone due to the darkness. The student's robbery comes nearly a month after fifth year Mathematics graduate student Al-Moez Alimohamed was murdered near 48th and Pine streets. The student said doctors at HUP were concerned about the impact the blows to his head might have had immediately following the attack. "For three hours I was completely unconscious," the student said. "The doctors were scared." The student said he was released from the hospital at 12:30 p.m. yesterday, because he wanted to go to a meeting with his dissertation advisor. Before being discharged, he underwent a CAT scan and had x-rays taken because of the severity of his injuries. "They wanted to keep me under supervision for a whole day but I got out of it," he said. The student said he would return to HUP Friday for more tests. University Police Sergeant Keith Christian said no arrests have been made and no new developments were made in the investigation yesterday.