A statement from the East Lansing Police Department today indicates it has identified many witnesses and a suspect related to the Sunday morning assault of journalism sophomore Zachary Tennen.
“An 18-year-old Farmington Hills man has been identified as a suspect in the case,” according to the statement, which was determined after questioning “many witnesses.”
The man is not an MSU student nor has he been arrested.
“The motive behind the assault does not appear to be based on the victim’s religion according to witness accounts.”
Tennen said in a previous interview he was the victim of a hate crime at 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning, when he was punched and had his jaw broken at a party in the 500 block of Spartan Avenue.
Although there has been some discrepancy between Tennen’s family and the ELPD regarding whether the incident was a hate crime, the ELPD now has affirmed that both the witnesses and the victim said following the assault, there was a small piece of metal in the victim’s mouth.
It remains unclear how the metal got in Tennen’s mouth, the ELPD said.
Keep checking statenews.com for more on this developing story.
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