MADISON, Wis. — A suspect has been arrested after the Madison Police Department (MPD) says a UW-Madison student was critically injured in an assault Sunday morning.
Authorities identified the suspect as Brandon Thompson, 26.
During the press briefing, police said they used surveillance video to get a license plate number leading to Thompson's arrest. The 26-year-old was stopped by Fitchburg Police earlier that morning for a registration violation. MPD said body cam video during the traffic stop was also instrumental in piecing information together.
Police said Thompson was on-scene after the attack, that he told witnesses he found the victim and then left the scene before police arrived.
The 26-year-old man was arrested and booked into the Dane County Jail Wednesday. He's facing tentative charges of first-degree reckless injury, first-degree sexual assault, and strangulation.
Thompson is a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee graduate with a degree in Criminal Justice Administration and a minor in Psychology.
The police department previously said police responded around 3 a.m. Sunday to a report of a woman found severely injured near West Wilson and Bedford. She was taken to a local hospital where she's in critical condition.
"Her life is forever changed. Her family's life is forever changed. We will continue to work hard to make sure Mr. Thompson is held fully accountable in a court of law for the heinous act that he perpetrated," Madison Police Assistant Chief Paige Valenta stated.
The news of the arrest comes after Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin told CNN, "This is certainly not the way that we hoped to begin this school year. And I know that so many of us in this room and your parents and families are feeling anger, and grief, and anxiety. Madison is generally quite a safe city. But no place is completely safe."
Anyone living within four blocks of this area with a home security camera is asked to send the video to detectives.
Video can be shared by calling MPD at 608-255-2345 or Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014 or anonymously online at p3tips.com.
Correction: The suspect was booked at the Dane County Jail.
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