Clarification: Information in this article has been updated to clarify that OSU student involvement in the violent incident has not been confirmed. 

The Corvallis Police Department is currently investigating a violent incident, and Oregon State University is seeking to confirm whether the incident involved an OSU student or students, according to Vice President of University Relations & Marketing Steve Clark.

Clark said OSU is aware of reports of an incident of serious violence against a Corvallis community member.

“OSU takes very seriously these reports and unequivocally condemns violence of any kind,” Clark said in an email.

According to Clark, the university is cooperating with the CPD’s investigation into the matter and any knowledge of the incident should be immediately reported to the CPD.

“All OSU students are expected to fully uphold the university’s Code of Student Conduct,” Clark said. 

Clark said OSU will provide support for members of the OSU community affected by this matter and its reporting. 

University services are provided by the Student Care Team, Student Health Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access and Bias Incident Reporting. The Department of Public Safety on the OSU Corvallis campus can be reached 24/7 at (541) 737-3010.

A screenshot of the Facebook post that initially had information about the incident a few days ago—information that has not been confirmed by the CPD or OSU—can be found on the Instagram account “corvallis_watch,” a space where people can share updates about threats in the Corvallis community. 

The post states that the people who instigated the violent incident used homophobic slurs and includes two pictures of the alleged perpetrators.

A few hours ago, a GoFundMe account was launched for the person who was hurt in the incident to raise money for their hospital treatment. The GoFundMe maintains that the individual was attacked by three men while working the graveyard shift at a local convenience store, and states, “The men who attacked her spewed hateful transphobic and queerphobic rhetoric throughout the attack. She was severely injured and taken to the hospital for two nights to treat two broken orbital bones around each eye and a fractured shoulder.”

Oct. 29, 6 p.m.:

In an email sent to OSU Corvallis students at 3 p.m. today, OSU leadership expressed “sadness and dismay following the reported assault of a transgender Corvallis community member at a nearby convenience store this past weekend.”

The statement is signed in partnership by Vice Provost for Student Affairs Dan Larson, Associate Vice Provost and Dean of Students Kevin Dougherty and Interim Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Scott Vignos. They stated that transgender and non-binary students and employees are valued members of the OSU community.

The email states that incidents like this are antithetical to university and community shared values, and the university stands in solidarity with the transgender and non-binary community as OSU works collectively to eliminate transphobia within OSU and the broader Corvallis community.

“We understand incidents like this are traumatizing,” the statement said. “In addition to direct outreach to impacted community members, the Pride Center on OSU’s Corvallis campus will be open today until 5 p.m., and next week on Monday and Tuesday from noon until 7 p.m.”

University offices including Diversity and Cultural Engagement, the Office of the Dean of Students, Counseling and Psychological Services and the Office of Institutional Diversity are collaborating to provide supportive spaces for students and employees early next week.

The statement also listed a few more university resources not mentioned in the earlier statement from Clark, such as the Beyond Benefits Employee Assistance Program and the Survivor Advocacy Resource Center.

As of 6 p.m., the GoFundMe that was set up for the person hurt in the incident has reached $5,432 of its $5,000 goal. The donations are said to be funding the person’s medical expenses.

This is an ongoing story and updates will be posted as the story progresses.