Rindge police have arrested a Massachusetts man in connection with an assault on the Franklin Pierce University campus that sent a student to the hospital with a fractured skull earlier this month.
Rindge Detective Rachel Malynowski said Wednesday morning that Travis P. Flagg, 18, of Gardner, Massachusetts turned himself in around 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, about an hour after a warrant for his arrest was completed.
“I contacted Mr. Flagg and he immediately turned himself in,” Malynowski said.
Flagg was charged with second degree assault, a class B felony, and simple assault, a class A misdemeanor.
The 22-year-old victim remains in the intensive care unit (ICU) at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. Malynowski said the victim remains in critical condition.
“There has been no real change in condition,” Malynowski said. “The victim is showing mild improvements daily. It’s a slow recovery, but it may never be a full recovery.”
There is no known prior relationship between Flagg and the victim, Malynowski said.
The assault occurred outside the Lakeview Townhouses on the FPU campus on Dec. 1. Police and emergency responders arrived at the campus around 1:17 a.m.
Flagg was released on personal recognizance bail and was given a Dec. 27 arraignment date at the Cheshire County Superior Court in Keene.
Flagg was a member of a non-student group on campus the night of the assault. Malynowski said Flagg and the other members of his group never registered with campus security to be a guest at the campus.
“It’s not uncommon for people to go onto the FPU campus if they hear rumor of a party,” Malynowski said.
Malynowski said there are no additional charges pending in this case for other members of the group.
Flagg was the initial suspect in the case for the Rindge Police Department. Malynowski said police began investigating Flagg after following up on rumors and other tips police gathered through on interviews campus.