A University of Iowa freshman is recovering from injuries after being severely beaten over the weekend in what his family is calling a racially motivated attack, WLS-TV reports.
Marcus Owens, 19, had to get almost a dozen stitches in his lip after the attack that left his eye socket damaged and his front teeth knocked out. He was released from the hospital Monday night.
"This is 2016; you shouldn't expect this to happen," Owens said.
According to the report, Owens had left an off-campus pub Saturday night and was texting a friend when three white men yelled the n-word, rushed him and began punching him. Someone yelled at his attackers, who then ran away, but the damage had already been done.
"You did not know them. They did not know you. There was no altercation. You simply yelled out racial epithets and attacked him," Darrell Owens, Marcus' uncle, told the news station.
Marcus Owens' family is currently with him on campus and has filed a police report. Both local and campus police are investigating the attack. Marcus Owens reportedly told his family that he believes one of his attackers is a student he has seen around campus.
There are currently no plans for Marcus Owens to transfer from the school, his family said.
Read more at WLS-TV.