Three weeks have passed since a Homecoming weekend assault near Grant North which resulted in the injury of three NIU students.

One of the three students, Justin Pisellini, suffered a beating so severe it almost took his life.

Three and a half weeks after the attack, the alleged perpetrators have not been detained when they could have been shortly after the crime.

After more than three weeks, the reasoning behind some of the decisions made on Oct. 21 is still unclear.

Here’s what we do know: University Police detained four individuals after the attack, one of whom was an NIU student. UP Sgt. Todd Henert and a statement from NIU Public Affairs said that police received a confession “within 30 hours” of the attack.

Then, after receiving these confessions, police released the four suspects.

Four days later, police issued warrants for the arrest of three of the individuals detained that Saturday night.

With the recent heightened level of crime on campus, including a student who was attacked in an attempted purse robbery last week, students have the right to know what is being done to ensure our safety.

Why did University Police release the four suspects without taking their photos after receiving a confession, then issue a warrant days later? Who decided that the suspects should be released?

We feel these are pressing questions that the NIU community deserves to know the answer to.