The family of Marcus Owens said the University of Iowa’s response since it released a statement early Wednesday morning has been “acceptable.”

Owens’ uncle told The Daily Iowan University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld has been spending time with the family — who are in town from Naperville and the surrounding area. This morning, Harreld went to the dentist with Owens in Iowa City, as Owens lost his two front teeth in the assault. His uncle said Harreld has showed “strong leadership” in the aftermath.

“He actually initiated the call, and setting up the appointments, and is taking a strong leadership role, and being very sympathetic to the family,” Dwayne Owens said.

The assault against Owens is being investigated as a hate crime, officials said Wednesday, after a news report out of Chicago and a trending topic on Twitter alerted UI officials of the situation late Tuesday night.

According to the Iowa City Police Department, Owens reported to the front desk on Monday evening that he had been assaulted between 10 and 11 p.m. on Saturday night in the alleyway of the 200 block of Iowa Avenue. Sources say Owens originally went to the University of Iowa Department of Safety, but was sent to the Iowa City Police Department, potentially because of a question of jurisdiction.

Owens, according to the ICPD, was “struck multiple times.” The ICPD is currently investigating with the intent of pursuing criminal charges, and they said they have developed suspect information. According to the crime alert sent this morning to the UI community, the suspects are three white males, average height, approximately 19 to 22 years of age.

Amid a flurry of tweets under #ExplainIowa, the UI released a statement via its Twitter account early Wednesday morning at close to 1 a.m., saying they first learned of the incident after the Chicago TV station, ABC 7, contacted University of Iowa officials.

The University of Iowa released a crime alert today, after students criticized the university on social media for not doing so. #ExplainIowa trended on Twitter early this morning.

UI officials have since released a “message to the community,” signed by various UI leaders, such as Harred, Georgina Dodge, the chief diversity officer and associate vice president, Tom Rocklin, the vice president for student life, Lucy Widerholt, the interim assistant vice president and director of public safety, as well as student leaders Rachel Zuckerman, UISG president, Lauren Freeman, UISG vice president, Joshua Schoenfeld, the GPSG president, and Jasmine Mangrum, the GPSG vice president.

In the statement, they say students have a right to feel safe on the campus. The statement says that Owens was sent to the ICPD to file a report after visiting the UI police. The statement says it was intended to prevent him from having to share his story several times, but the UI “recognize this as a failure” and will work to improve reporting mechanisms in the future.