Man accused of hitting Jewish students with bottle in Pittsburgh now linked to previous attack

The suspect arrested last Friday, accused of attacking a group of Jewish students on the University of Pittsburgh campus, is now charged in connection with an earlier incident at another school.

Jarrett Buba, the suspect identified in court documents, was arrested Aug. 30 after a group of Jewish students on the University of Pittsburgh campus were attacked by someone “brandishing a bottle,” the university said in a statement.

He had no known affiliation with the school, according to the university, and was “immediately arrested.”

Buba was charged last week with two counts of simple assault, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of recklessly endangering another person, two counts of harassment and one count of resisting arrest, according to online records.

According to the criminal complaint, on August 29, the day before the attack on the University of Pittsburgh campus, a glass bottle was thrown at two members of the Carnegie Mellon University community.

No injuries were reported and the bottle struck a nearby vehicle, according to the criminal complaint. Carnegie Mellon police combed the area after receiving a call but did not find the suspect.

Buba was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment in connection with the Aug. 29 incident, according to online court records.

It was not known Saturday evening whether Buba had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

The next day, Carnegie Mellon University issued a public safety alert to the community about the incident on the University of Pittsburgh campus. After seeing the alert, one of the victims from the Aug. 29 incident called police to say she believed the suspect was “the same man from Aug. 29,” according to the complaint.

The incident at Carnegie Mellon University appears to have been coincidental. According to the complaint, Buba began following the two victims after they made eye contact with him.

Surveillance footage shows the suspect engaging with the two victims, turning to follow them, rushing toward them and “aggressively throwing the green bottle” toward the victims, according to the complaint.

Buba continued to address the victims “in an aggressive manner” until he fled.

The incident at the University of Pittsburgh involved two students wearing yarmulkes as they walked on campus. One of them made eye contact with Buba, who was sitting at a table across the street, according to the criminal complaint. Buba was described in the incident as wearing a keffiyeh, a headscarf that has become a symbol of solidarity with Palestine.

According to the complaint, surveillance video shows Buba running across the street and toward the two students, who were traveling in a group. Both students said they were attacked from behind with a green glass sparkling water bottle, one on the right cheek and the other on the back of the neck, resulting in “several superficial lacerations.”

One of the victims punched Buba and pinned him to the ground to hold him until the police arrived, who eventually arrested Buba.

Both students were treated at the scene, and the university said officials reached out to Hillel University Center and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to offer support to the students.

“While this incident does not appear to pose a threat to the public, we recognize that incidents such as these are disruptive to our Pitt community,” the university said in its statement. “Let us be clear: neither acts of violence nor anti-Semitism will be tolerated.”

The incident occurred near the Cathedral of Learning, a central building on the university’s main campus.

According to the criminal complaint, agents from the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office are investigating the case as a possible hate crime. Police said the investigation is ongoing, and the University of Pittsburgh confirmed that “local and federal partners” are supporting the efforts.

The University of Pittsburgh Police Department said it does not believe the incident is related to an earlier violent incident at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, located across from the Cathedral of Learning. Pittsburgh Public Safety said a man was shot in the leg near the complex around 5:30 p.m. and was transported in stable condition.

The fall semester at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University began on August 26.