FAYETTEVILLE, AR (KNWA) — The University of Arkansas Police Department (UAPD) is investigating a rape in south Fayetteville.
The property is off-campus, but on land leased by the UofA.
According to UAPD, no students were involved.
A woman told police her attackers were two homeless men. The UAPD says it happened south of 19th street and east of Nonamaker on Tuesday.
According to the UAPD, the woman reported that the men were intoxicated and carrying pocket knives.
On Wednesday, officers interviewed two men believed to have been involved.
There is also a question of which agency has jurisdiction over the property where the crime is said to have happened.
Once determined, the appropriate agency will take over the case and hand over evidence to the prosecuting attorney’s office.
This isn’t the first violent crime investigation this year involving homeless people in the city.
Back in January, the UAPD investigated a murder committed in a homeless camp in south Fayetteville.
Tuesday’s rape report brings questions about a possible rise in violence among the homeless.
The Fayetteville Police Department says the number of crimes committed by the homeless is relatively small compared to those committed in everyday homes.
We also spoke with Seven Hills and the city of Fayetteville.
Both have teamed up and spent the past several months discussing plans to decrease the homeless population in the city.
Jon Woodward with Seven Hills says this should also help reduce crime among the homeless.
“what we need to do though as a community, to be able to ensure less and less of these situations occur, is to be able to get folks in stable housing,” he says. “By doing that, it’s been demonstrated that crime rates decrease significantly.”
Woodward says they are also working to treat mental health patients and develop some type of plan to bring in single-family homes for the area.