A woman was sexually assaulted near Syringa Hall on the Greenbelt side of the campus late Friday night and fought off her attacker before he left in an unknown direction. Police responded to her report around 11:40 p.m., according to a BroncoAlert notification from the university. The suspect, described as a white male in his 30s with long blond hair and tattoos on his arms, remains unidentified and at large, according to the notification.
According to East Idaho News, the Boise State Department of Public Safety and the Boise Police Department responded to the report of rape around 11:40 p.m. Friday, though the victim indicated the assault itself had occurred roughly an hour earlier. The assault occurred near Syringa Hall, on the Greenbelt side of the campus.
The BroncoAlert said the suspect forced the victim to the ground and sexually assaulted her; it also said the victim fought him off and that he left in an unknown direction. Officers searched the area but did not locate him, and the man is not reportedly known to the victim. The investigation remains active and ongoing with the Boise Police Department, which is coordinating its work with Boise State's Office of Compliance and Ethics, per the notification detailed by East Idaho News.
A Campus Already Watching Its Numbers Climb
The reported attack lands just after Boise State released its 2026 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, which recorded 10 reported rapes on campus property in 2025, up from three the year before, according to CBS 2 Boise. The same report showed on-campus stalking reports more than doubling, from 10 incidents in 2024 to 22 in 2025, even as liquor law disciplinary referrals fell sharply over the same period, the station noted.
Boise State Chief Compliance Officer Danielle Berish said the official Clery Act figures only capture incidents that occur on university property, not the full picture, as reported by Boise State Public Radio. She pointed to national data suggesting 20% to 25% of undergraduate women experience sexual assault during college, framing Boise State's urban campus — where many students live off university property — as a place where the official numbers represent only part of the problem.
Greenbelt Safety Concerns Predate This Case
The reported assault also revives questions about safety along the Boise River Greenbelt, a 25-mile pathway. A separate arrest related to a Greenbelt assault has also been reported.
The city maintains dedicated bike officers along the Greenbelt alongside civilian Greenbelt Ambassadors, volunteers who patrol on bicycles and golf carts and report suspicious activity directly to dispatchers, per the City of Boise.
Campus Safety Tools and Where to Get Help
Boise State has a blue emergency phone and offers the Rave Guardian smartphone app as a mobile panic alarm.
East Idaho News outlined several avenues for reporting or seeking support. Boise State's Title IX office can be reached through Meagan Roumanis at (208) 426-1250 or [email protected], and the university's Department of Public Safety accepts reports in person at Capitol Village, 2245 University Drive, by phone at 208-426-6911, or online. Boise Police also accept anonymous reports by calling (208) 343-COPS.
The Ada County Victim Services Center, located at 417 S. Sixth St. in Boise, can be reached at (208) 577-4400, and sexual assault nurse examiners are available around the clock to conduct specialized medical forensic examinations, which must be completed within 120 hours of an assault. Anyone facing a medical, fire or life-safety emergency should call 911 or use a campus blue emergency phone; Ada County also offers text-to-911 service. Students can reach University Counseling Services at (208) 426-1459, 1529 Belmont St., or the Student Connections and Support Center at (208) 426-4259, 1700 University Drive.
