A suspect has been charged with third degree assault in the Wednesday evening attack of a Webster adjunct on Olive St. in the vicinity of the Gateway Campus in downtown St. Louis.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) Public Information Division confirmed in an email Thursday the City of St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office issued one count of assault in the third-degree against 47-year old Anthony Eldridge of the 2300 block of Olive St. in St. Louis.
Webster spokesperson Patrick Giblin said Public Safety Director Rick Gerger had assigned additional personnel to the campus starting Thursday evening which will continue through next week.
“We’ll closely monitor the situation and see how people feel and how it goes,” Giblin said.
The initial report released through SLMPD stated officers responded to Culinaria at 6:04 p.m. on Wednesday after a security officer stated the victim of an assault approached him seeking help.
The adjunct told police she was outside of the Arcade Building when Eldridge approached, grabbed her face and pushed her head against a wall. Culinaria is a supermarket located one block west of the Gateway Campus.
Eldridge then fled on foot in the opposite direction on Olive St. The report then stated the officers obtained a description of Eldridge and located him one block east at Locust and N. 7th St. and took him into custody.
At the time of the report filing, warrants for Eldridge’s arrest were still pending and the investigation was ongoing. The report also confirmed the adjunct did refuse medical attention, but did not state that she returned to class.
Giblin said after 6 p.m. the only people who can enter the Arcade Building are students, faculty and staff who have swipe cards. He also emphasized Webster Public Safety does monitor the property around the clock, but the building also has its own security detail present and those employees sit at the security desk on the first floor.
An SLMPD crime comparison report for the downtown area issued in May 2015 listed 14 non-aggravated assaults in April. Last month, the area reported 15 non-aggravated, or “simple” assaults. These incidences are recorded as attacks not involving a weapon or use of fists under the Uniform Crime Reporting standard used by the department.
The Gateway Campus is located in the fourth district of the SLMPD, which includes the downtown area.
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