PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A Brown University student remains in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital after he was assaulted on the East Side early Sunday morning, Deputy Police Chief Thomas F. Oates III said.
Witnesses told the police Joseph Sharkey, 21, of Norwood, Mass., was talking to a group of women in the area of Thayer and George streets around 2 a.m. Sunday when another man walked up to him and punched him in the face, knocking him down, Oates said. The attack, Oates said, appeared to have been unprovoked.
Both campus and city police responded. Oates said he didn't know if Sharkey and the assailant knew each other.
A Rhode Island Hospital spokesman said Sharkey remained in critical late Monday night.
Sharkey is a 6-2 sophomore guard from Norwood, Mass. He attended Northfield Mount Hermon School, outside Springfield, Mass., a boarding school known for its strong basketball program.
As a freshman, he was injured in a preseason practice and missed the entire season. He returned to action this past year and played in all but one of Brown's 28 basketball games, mostly as a backup.
The original version of this story was published at 10:24 a.m. and updated at 1:06 , 1:38 and 10 p.m. with wire and staff reports.