The suspect arrested last Friday on suspicion of attacking a group of Jewish students on the University of Pittsburgh campus now faces charges in connection with an earlier incident at a different school.
Jarrett Buba, the suspect named in the court documents, was arrested on Aug. 30 after a group of Jewish students on the University of Pittsburgh campus were attacked by someone “wielding a bottle,” the university said in a statement.
According to the university, he had no known ties to the school and was “immediately arrested.”
Buba was charged last week 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, online records show.
According to the criminal complaint, on August 29, the day before the attack on the University of Pittsburgh campus, a glass bottle was thrown at two members of the Carnegie Mellon University community.
No injuries were reported and the bottle struck a nearby vehicle, the complaint said. Carnegie Mellon police responded to a call and searched the area but did not locate the suspect.
Buba was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment in connection with the Aug. 29 incident, online court records show.
On Saturday evening it was still unclear whether Buba had a lawyer who could comment on his behalf.
The following day, Carnegie Mellon University issued a public safety alert to the community regarding the incident on the University of Pittsburgh campus. After seeing the alert, one of the victims of the Aug. 29 incident called police to report that they believed the suspect was “the same male as on Aug. 29,” according to the complaint.
The incident at Carnegie Mellon University appeared to be random. According to the complaint, Buba began following the two victims after they made eye contact with him.
Surveillance footage shows the suspect talking to the two victims, turning to follow them, running toward them and “aggressively throwing the green bottle” at the victims, the complaint said.
Buba continued to interact with the victims in an “aggressive manner” until he fled.
The incident at the University of Pittsburgh involved two students wearing yarmulkes as they walked across campus. One student made eye contact with Buba, who was sitting at a table across the street, the complaint said. Buba was described in that incident as wearing a keffiyeh, a scarf that has become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.
Surveillance footage shows Buba running across the street toward the two students, who were traveling with a group, the complaint said. The two students said they were attacked from behind with a green glass bottle of sparkling water, one on the right cheek and the other on the neck, resulting in “multiple superficial lacerations.”
One of the victims punched Buba and wrestled him to the ground to restrain him while he waited for the police to arrive and eventually arrest Buba.
The two students were treated at the scene and the university said officials contacted the Hillel University Center and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to offer the students support.
“While there is no ongoing threat to the public as a result of this incident, we recognize that incidents like this are troubling to our Pitt community,” the university said in its statement. “To be clear, neither violent acts nor anti-Semitism will be tolerated.”
The incident took place near the Cathedral of Learning, a central building on the university’s main campus.
Agents from the FBI’s Pittsburgh office are investigating the case as a possible hate crime, the complaint said. Police said the investigation is ongoing, and the University of Pittsburgh confirmed that “local and federal partners” are supporting the effort.
University of Pittsburgh police said they did not believe the incident was related to an earlier violent incident reported at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, which is 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 listed in stable condition.
The fall semester at both the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University began on August 26.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
