Police have arrested and charged four juveniles with aggravated robbery in connection with an attack on three 18-year-old University of Cincinnati freshmen outside the Wingstop on Short Vine last Wednesday evening. The women said they were surrounded and beaten by a group of roughly eight or nine older teenagers, who took their electric scooters. Police say others involved are still being sought.
Scooter Ride Turns Into an Ambush
The women rode their personal electric scooters from their dorm to the restaurant around 8 p.m. Wednesday and encountered the group near the crosswalk by Wingstop, according to WKRC. The station reported that the confrontation escalated into an assault.
WKRC reported that male and female teens attacked all three freshmen: four girls targeted one woman, male attackers went after another, and the group struck a third in the face before taking the scooters. Three attackers fled down the street on the scooters, while the rest ran off on foot. One woman later recovered her scooter; the station did not report what happened to the others.
Victims Treated for Cuts and Bruises
WKRC reported that all three women were treated at UC Medical Center for cuts and bruises. The victims requested anonymity.
WKRC reported that a UC parent who contacted City Hall about campus security received an email from the city manager’s office outlining police safety measures already underway.
Four Juveniles Charged, Others Still Sought
Police have arrested and charged four juveniles with aggravated robbery in connection with the attack, though officers are still seeking other people believed to have been involved. Under Ohio law, aggravated robbery is a felony of the first degree, according to Section 2911.01 of the Ohio Revised Code. Mayor's office staff said, per the same report, that the city takes the safety of young people around campus extremely seriously.
A Violent Fall Semester Near Campus
The Wingstop attack lands amid what police describe as a major uptick in violence and large, unsanctioned gatherings around UC since just before the school year began, as detailed by Local 12. The station's earlier report put the shooting count at seven people shot in five separate incidents near UC from late August through early September, while WCPO cited seven reported shootings, including two homicides, between the start of the fall semester and Sept. 22 — compared with two shootings in 2024, one shooting and one homicide in 2023, and none during the comparable period in 2025.
In response, Cincinnati police bolstered walking and biking patrols near UC, put up barricades, and temporarily instituted overnight road closures around campus, according to WCPO. The department also deployed officers from its 20-officer bike patrol unit to the area, while the university doubled its CUF police detail — a program funded at $1 million per year to hire off-duty Cincinnati officers for patrols in Clifton, CUF and Corryville.
Police also partnered with UC police for increased patrols, added lighting near campus and distributed safety tips to students, per the WKRC report. Cincinnati police and the university say they maintain a strong patrol presence around campus and continue to investigate and prosecute criminal behavior, with security specifically increased around the U-Square Loop. Police and university officials say increased patrols, barricades and social media monitoring have helped improve public safety near campus following the violent start to the semester, according to the same WCPO account.
Safety Measures and Campus Crime Data
The University of Cincinnati says it regularly contracts with the city for additional Cincinnati police officers in the area, with staffing depending on crime trends and community activities. Separately, WLWT reported that, in response to violence near UC, officials implemented traffic restrictions and barricaded the University Square Courtyard along Market Street over a weekend. For geographic context, the University of Cincinnati’s Clery guidance defines public property to include areas immediately adjacent to and accessible from campus, such as streets and sidewalks. That guidance does not establish the precise campus or Clery classification of the Wingstop location. The shooting figures cited above come from news reports covering specified periods; they should not be treated as directly comparable annual Clery totals.
