DURHAM – After receiving inconsistent stories about what happened, University of New Hampshire police are still looking for people who witnessed a student getting beaten Halloween night.

UNH police Sgt. Steven Lee said the handful of witnesses interviewed so far reported only one common theme: "People did actively walk by it or stand and watch as this was happening and did nothing to mitigate it."

A 21-year-old male student was attacked about 11:30 Saturday night on the Ballard Street side of Sawyer Hall in an incident that may have involved as many as five people repeatedly kicking and punching him, police said.

The area where the attack occurred was thick with people Saturday because of Halloween, and police hope to speak to more witnesses to try to piece together who the attackers were and precisely what happened. So far it's unclear what occurred because of varying witness accounts.

Some witnesses said only three men attacked the students. Different witnesses also said the group of men fled in different directions.

The student who was attacked was treated and released from the hospital Sunday morning, but he had "significant facial injuries," police said.

Lee said the student was walking home alone when he happened upon the group of three to five men, one of whom was wearing a banana or hot dog costume. Words were exchanged and then the men attacked the student, he said.

Someone nearby heard the fight, came to the scene afterward and then called 911, Lee said, but no one who watched it unfold phoned police.

The student left the area after the attack and a police officer in H-Lot, next to New Hampshire Hall, stopped him after noticing he looked like he had been beaten, Lee said.

"It was malicious and very serious and not in keeping with what we've come to expect from visitors and students," Lee said.

He added, "We're very, very sure that there a lot more people who probably saw it or have more information about it." In particular, police are looking for a man who picked the student up after the attack and helped him along his way.

Lee said it's too early to say whether the attackers may have been UNH students.

The attackers are described as being men between 5-foot-10 and 6-foot-1. One was reportedly wearing a hot dog or banana costume, another a red plaid buttoned-down shirt and two others were in dark-colored hoodies.