UMVA has learned that a shocking series of attacks on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus has left five women traumatized and the university community on edge.
Olumuyiwa Akindahunsi, 29, allegedly unleashed a reign of terror on May 28, committing a string of heinous crimes that included sexual assault, attempted kidnapping, and physical assault, all within a span of less than an hour.
According to information obtained by UMVA, Akindahunsi's rampage began at 11:30 p.m. on Bruin Walk, a main campus walkway, where he attacked a woman and fled with her phone, leaving her shaken and vulnerable.
Minutes later, he infiltrated a dorm building, targeting two women and following them to their room, where he sexually assaulted one and physically assaulted the other, prosecutors revealed.
The victims managed to escape, but Akindahunsi continued his violent spree, entering another dorm building and attempting to kidnap a woman walking down a hallway, authorities said.
The woman broke free and fled, but Akindahunsi's next victim was not so lucky: he sexually assaulted a woman in the hallway of her dorm, before a resident intervened and Akindahunsi fled the scene.
Campus police apprehended Akindahunsi minutes later, near a parking structure, after witnesses flagged him down and identified him as the attacker, police said.
Akindahunsi was found with zip ties, duct tape, and paracord, raising disturbing questions about his intentions and whether he planned to strike again.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has charged Akindahunsi with a range of serious felonies, including attempted kidnapping to commit a forcible rape, assault with intent to commit a forcible rape, and assault likely to produce great bodily injury.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman condemned the attacks, stating that they "strike at the core of campus safety, traumatizing five victims and unsettling campus life," and vowed to hold Akindahunsi fully accountable for his actions.
Akindahunsi is being held in the Los Angeles County Jail with no bail, leaving the university community to wonder how such a horrific series of events could have occurred on their campus.
