A passerby rescued the black student attacked Saturday by five white males before he might have sustained more injuries than 12 stitches to his face.

NIU Judicial Office Director Larry Bolles said the victim told him he was saved by a “healthy, muscular” white male student driving by. “He probably would have been killed” if the passerby would not have intervened, he said.

“He (the passerby) jumped on the crowd and snatched the black kid out,” Bolles said. “He took the kid behind him and told the others to stop.”

The victim was jerked out of his car in the 900 block of Hillcrest Drive near midnight by three assailants, who were joined by two additional attackers before the passerby intervened.

When the five attackers fled, the passerby recorded their license plate number and car description, Bolles said. The five fled in a red Jeep Wagoneer with license plate number CB2180. University Police located the vehicle and its owner a short time afterward.

Bolles said DeKalb Police have identified the five attackers, three of which are NIU students. The other two are from Chicago, he said. DeKalb Police are handling the investigation since the incident occurred off-campus.

No arrests have been made, although DeKalb Police have several suspects, said DeKalb Police Lt. Charles Beierlotzer.

“He’s (the victim) very scared,” Bolles said. “This is the first time he’s been beaten up by a bunch of white guys.”

The victim’s problems continued after receiving a written reprimand from his employer for missing work the following day. Dewey Yaeger, president and chief executive officer of The DeKalb Bank, 363 E. Lincoln Hwy., said the reprimand was issued as a “normal course of business.”

Yaeger said the bank “does not discuss personnel matters in the press.” However, Yaeger is reviewing the circumstances of the incident, and “if all of the facts check out,” the reprimand will not become part of the victim’s permanent personnel file.

Yaeger said he was not aware the victim called in sick or that he spent most of Sunday morning in the DeKalb Police Station and Kishwaukee Community Hospital for medical treatment.

A reprimand is not unusual when an employee fails to show up for work, and a memo has been filed to further investigate the case, Yaeger said. The floor manager might not have been aware of the situation and followed normal procedure by issuing a reprimand, Yaeger said.

“I don’t want to make it into more than it is,” Yaeger said. There is no set number of absences or reprimands that lead to a dismissal, and any action taken by the bank is eligible for appeal, he said.

NIU President John La Tourette denounced the violent act and promised “strong and swift action against any NIU student found to be involved.” Students responsible for what La Tourette termed an “abhorrent” beating will face disciplinary action by NIU’s Judicial Office, as well as additional charges.

Bolles said the victim is 19-years old and from a “very good” suburb of Chicago. “His mother is very concerned,” he said. The attackers are from an all-white neighborhood and a white-dominated high school, Bolles said.

“This kid is trying to figure out what’s happening to him,” Bolles said. “He’s been catching hell.” The victim wants to stay at NIU because the actions of the passerby helped show him everyone is not out to get him, Bolles said.

NIU officials, including Bolles, are looking for the passerby to thank him.