Water Gun Used in Attack on Student

HUNTINGTON BEACH — An 18-year-old Golden West College student was attacked on campus by a man who carried a plastic water gun and sprayed a liquid at the victim’s face that caused a minor skin irritation, police said Friday.

The woman had just finished playing basketball with a group of friends near the Fine Arts building when she began walking home shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday.

She told police a man approached her from behind and put what she believed to be a handgun to her back. Then, the man pushed her into some bushes, put the gun to her head and tried to wrap tape around her eyes and hands, police said. He told her not to scream or he would kill her, police said.

“At some point during the struggle, she figured out the gun was really a water pistol and she managed to resist enough to get him off of her,” said Police Lt. Luis Ochoa. “But he squirted her in the face with the gun before running away.”

Campus security officers responded to the woman’s screams, and she was treated briefly at the scene by paramedics before being taken to nearby Columbia Huntington Beach Hospital and Medical Center, Ochoa said. Detectives have not identified the liquid in the gun but said it caused a mild abrasion to the victim’s face.

Police said such an assault is unusual, particularly on the campus at 15744 Golden West St.

“We can’t remember the last [incident] like this at Golden West,” Ochoa said. “It’s extremely rare.”

The attacker was described as Asian, between 19 and 25 years old, 5 foot 5 inches tall and 140 pounds. He wore a white T-shirt under a light-colored plaid shirt and gray pants. Anyone with information regarding the assault is asked to call the Huntington Beach Police Department at (714) 536-5951.

--BONNIE HAYES