Sketch released of suspect in Cal State San Bernardino attacks on women

Police have released a sketch of a man who they believe attacked two female students at Cal State San Bernardino.

The brazen attacks occurred last Wednesday and Sunday and left many female students at the university on their guard.

In last Wednesday’s attack, the man approached the student from behind in a stairwell at John M. Pfau Library. He grabbed and kissed her face several times and attempted to pull down her pants. She kicked the man in the groin and he ran away.

The second attack came just days later. Police said the man approached a woman from behind, placed his hand over her mouth and said, “Come on, let’s go for a ride in my car.” She was able to fight him off.

Police described the suspect as Latino, 19 to 21 years old, between 5 feet, 7 inches and 5 feet, 8 inches tall, and 135 to 145 pounds. The man has no facial hair, and his hair is black with large curls.

After a string of violent attacks on the campus over the last two weeks, freshman Stephanie Garibo and her friends aren’t taking any chances with their safety on campus.

Standing outside the student union with a group of friends Wednesday, Garibo showed off her new combination flashlight-Taser she got after 22-year-old Sahray Astina Barber went missing from her apartment building across the street from the campus Monday morning.

After looking at the Taser, her sorority sister Jennifer Lopez showed the group of female students how to wrap a fist around a pair of keys in case they needed to stab an assailant who approached from behind.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Lopez said. “So many incidents, one after another. It is beyond shocking.”

The doors to the student union now carry wanted posters with a sketch of the man.

Last Thursday, a man robbed a student’s iPhone in a school parking lot, police said. A student was kidnapped and robbed on Feb. 23 by a gunman who was ultimately arrested, police said.

The attacks have had a chilling effect on student life. Students are buying pepper spray, staying home to study and only walking around campus in groups, students said.

Sitting with a group of female students outside the student union, freshman Teresa De La Fuente stopped strumming on a guitar to show classmate Charlene Reliford her container of pepper spray. Reliford is in the market for a container of the spray.

“A lot of people are terrified to even step inside the library now,” Reliford said.

Freshman Jennifer Serrato and her boyfriend, senior Russell Flores, went to an Auto Zone on Tuesday and bought a hot-pink container of Mace.

“You sort of need it now,” she said, standing outside the library Wednesday. “I’m ready to use it.”

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