NEWPORT, R.I. -- The police are investigating three separate assaults of women near Salve Regina University last week.
The assaults are believed to be unrelated.
The first assault was reported Oct. 9 when a student was grabbed from behind around 11 p.m. as she entered the Miley Hall/New Residence parking lot off Narragansett Avenue. The student was able to free her arm and was not hurt.
The following night, another student reported a man driving by yelled a homophobic remark at her as she walked on Ruggles Avenue near Founders and Wallace Halls. Another passenger, the student said, got out and punched her in the face.
Students and university staff were sent a crime alert by the university.
Friday night a 42-year-old woman reported she was walking her dog in the area of Carroll and Ruggles Avenue when a young woman got out of a car and attacked her.