A University of Minnesota student was sexually assaulted in Sanford Hall early Sunday morning.
The victim was in a hallway outside of her room between 12:45 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. when she encountered two men who walked her back to room. Once in the room, one of the men threatened her with a knife and then the two raped her, according to a crime alert sent to the University community Tuesday.
She reported the incident to University police Monday. The 18-year-old told authorities she did not know the suspects, the alert said.
Detailed suspect descriptions were not available.
University spokesman Tim Busse said officials believe there was a security monitor working in the residence hall at the time.
University police are in the process of reviewing several hours of surveillance video from the night of the reported incident, he said.
The University’s Housing and Residential Life department sent a message Tuesday to all people living in University dorms to remind them of safety measures, like community advisers and security monitors.
Busse said UMPD will place more emphasis on ensuring doors of campus buildings are secure and residents aren’t followed by non-residents when they enter residence halls.
Busse said it’s “incredibly rare for a sexual assault to occur in a dorm.”
Ellen Schmidt contributed to this report.
