His arm suffocated her neck. Unable to turn her, he body slammed her to the ground. She could feel her breaths begin to slow. He thought he had killed her, which is exactly what he wanted.

On Friday, September 15, around eleven at night, a recent graduate of Fitchburg State University who wishes to remain anonymous at this time, was leaving a current student’s Highland Avenue house. She had parked on the corner of Congress Street and Highland Avenue which is less than 100 ft from the friend of the alumni’s residence.

“I saw a man facing the opposite way, walking down the street, and he kind of stopped at the corner where my car was. As I was walking towards him, he walked right past me, but then when we passed each other, he turned around quickly and put his arm around my neck like a headlock. From there, he kind of dragged me down,”shared the alumni.

The alumni has no serious physical injuries other than bruised ribs. It was at that moment, alone in the street, that she felt she had to fight for her survival.

“I was just trying to fight him off. Apparently I bit his finger, but I got to the point where I just couldn’t breathe because he was just so much bigger than me and that’s when I passed out. My body couldn’t fight anymore,” she said.

Shortly after the alumni had remained unconscious, the attacker released his grip, perhaps assuming she was dead. A few moments after he had let go the former student began to breathe again and ran to the first house she could find. While escaping the man she heard him say “Damn, b*tch. You’re still alive.”

The house she reached happened to be the residence of Fitchburg State Students. They took her in and cleaned her up. Other students attempted to confront the attacker to get answers, but as of right now it is unclear what exactly was said

The attacker reportedly told one of the students “I am higher than God… I can kill a woman if I want… She was someone who offended me in the past.”

She thinks her attacker may have mistaken her for a former romantic partner but then realized he had the wrong girl.

“I think this could’ve happened to anyone, but being a young woman played a big part. He said that he thought I was his ex and mentioned the frustration me being a college girl brought him,” she shared.

Although the attacker did not harm any other students, he allegedly attempted to attack another young woman just before the strangling incident. Prior to the attack, a current student, who also wishes to remain anonymous at this time, was chased back into her house when leaving a friend’s house.

“So basically I was walking back from my house after dropping my friend off, which is only five houses down from mine. I have walked home alone multiple times with no problems. I was at the corner of Highland and Orange when this big dude started sprinting towards me. In my head I thought it was nothing, but I just started running out of instinct cause I didn’t recognize the guy. As soon as I started to run the guy said “run” in a super monotone voice,” said the current Fitchburg State student.

The first event happened earlier that night and on the same street. Once the police were called, the student who ran away from the man realized that she was lucky to have gotten away.

“Honestly, I think the main thing is I just want to make sure people are safe and aware of what happened. I feel bad for the freshmen who just got here because school just started and I don’t want to scare anyone off, but it is important to be cautious about things that could happen,” the alumni said.

On September 22, 2023 an email that was sent out to the Fitchburg State students, faculty and staff, the University asked the community to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings. While students hope that the campus itself is a safe environment, the surrounding area sometimes feels less so.

“I get text messages in group chats all of the time saying “did you guys hear gunshots.” We constantly have to keep an eye out even when we are just going out to our car to grab something. My mom ordered me safety weapons because she even feels I’m not safe off campus,” an off campus resident stated.

Following the attack, police arrived at the scene around eleven thirty, according to the dispatch record, and arrested the attacker. However, the man has since been released from police custody.

“He originally went to Fitchburg Court and they said he was going to be transferred to Worcester but once he left Fitchburg Custody I wasn’t given anymore information and neither was the Fitchburg police,” said the alumni.

While he still remains a resident of Fitchburg, students should stay alert and be careful.