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ODU increases police patrols for homecoming weekend

Posted at 3:41 PM, Nov 09, 2014
and last updated 2014-11-09 19:50:56-05

Norfolk, Va. - With the recent violence around Old Dominion University's campus, police stepped up patrols for the school's homecoming weekend.

The hike in police presence comes in the wake of a series of assaults on and around the campus.  The most recent attack was last weekend.

Police say three students were violently attacked by a group of men on Melrose Parkway.

The victims, who are all members of the ODU rugby team, wouldn't allow the men inside their house party, according to witnesses.

Two of the students were beaten so severely that family and friends told NewsChannel 3  they needed face surgery.

There was a similar situation just one week earlier on 42nd Street.  ODU Police say some students were brutally beaten there as well.

So with a lot of celebrations planned for homecoming, ODU officials increased the police presence around campus with the help of Norfolk Police.

Some students told NewsChannel 3 they noticed the extra patrols and feel safe, but others say it's not enough.

"They focus too much on trying to give tickets for underage drinking, things like that, not focusing enough on the real problem," one student said.

That problem, he said, is the attacks on students.