Abducted, robbed, stabbed
An Oxford student was abducted, robbed and stabbed on Friday night in what is thought to have been one of the most brutal attacks on a member of the University in recent times.
The student, who has told police he wishes to remain anonymous, was held at knifepoint for around two hours. After handing over cash, debit cards and PIN codes to his attackers he was bundled into a taxi before escaping, some ten miles outside Oxford.
The ordeal left him requiring hospital treatment for a four-inch deep stab wound to the leg, as well as multiple slashes to the hand, arm, chest, back, neck and face.
The 19-year-old student had just arrived at Al Salam Bubbly Bar on Park End Street, when a man approached him at around 12.45am on the pretence of borrowing his mobile phone.
The assailant is described by police as white, around 5ft 10 with dark stubble. He was wearing a dark baseball cap, a royal blue shell suit top, dark jeans, and white tennis shoes. He was in his early to mid-twenties.
Not deterred by the student's reluctance to hand over his phone, and after distracting those sitting around the table with an offer of cheap cigarettes; the man stole the phone and returned to sit with his associates.
After being asked by the student to return the phone, the man left the Bubbly Bar with a second man, described by police as of mixed race, around 6ft 2in, wearing a light blue shell suit top, white T-shirt, jeans and white trainers. He had a goatee, wore a grey check hat, and was in his mid to late-twenties.
The student followed the two men onto Park End Street. No more than ten metres from the bar, the white man pulled out a knife, which he subsequently put to the throat of the student.
The two men then proceeded to take the student, whom they blindfolded with a large Rastafarian hat, down to the canal, where they demanded the contents of his wallet, along with the PIN codes for his bank accounts.
Despite the student's continued co-operation the white man persisted in using the knife against him, working in flurries of stabs.
As the two men extricated from him the information needed to withdraw his money, the student, who was still blindfolded, received multiple knife wounds to the chest and upper body.
Following the initial attacks the student tried to escape. Having been caught, he was stabbed to the upper leg, causing a four-inch deep wound, in an effort by his assailant to prevent future escape attempts.
The student was then led to Oxford railway station, where he aroused the attention of a passer-by. Because of his injuries, however, he did not have the strength to attempt to escape.
The men then took the student, still with the knife to his neck, to a deserted wasteland area. The black man then left with the student's bank cards and PIN numbers, returning around one hour later.
In that 60 minutes the white assailant launched a series of knife attacks against the student, reducing him to his hands and knees. Having found out that he attended Oxford University, the man repeatedly used the Oxford stereotype as a basis for his abuse, inflicting multiple stab wounds to the student's back, neck and face.
Following the black man's return, the student was forced into a red taxi, where he sat with the knife to the back of his neck. The taxi slowed to a halt approximately ten miles outside Oxford, where the student was able to escape. He was able to alert the drivers of passing lorries, who notified police, and was picked up by police at close to 3am, at the Marcham Interchange on the A34 at Abingdon.
Police described the ordeal as a "nasty attack", and urged any witnesses to come forward. Call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
14th Oct 2004