Manhunt on After Alleged Dorm Assault at Harvard

A manhunt is underway in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after a woman reported being attacked inside a Harvard dorm this week, with the suspect later spotted at MIT, campus officials say. Harvard police say the woman was trying to enter her room on Tuesday afternoon when a man came up behind her, covered her mouth, and tried to push her inside; bystanders jumped in and he ran off, per Fox News. He'd gained entry to the residence hall by trailing another person through a secure door, according to police, who said the victim wasn't hurt during the incident, per NBC Boston.

Not long afterward, MIT police say a man who matched the same description slipped into one of its dorms via a side entrance, behaved "suspiciously," and left just before 6pm, as seen on security video, per Fox. The suspect is described as a white man, about 5-foot-9 with a thin build, wearing a white T-shirt and dark shorts. Harvard officials told Lowell House residents that police are now patrolling the area. They also urged students to be vigilant about "tailgaters," i.e., people quietly following them into locked buildings, per WCVB. Anyone with information is asked to call MIT police at 617-258-TIPS (8477).