When Carly Notorangelo found her friend Safia Jilani crumpled and unconscious on an Elmhurst College bathroom floor Thursday night, she thought Jilani had fainted.

After closer inspection, Notorangelo, a junior, saw her friend had not collapsed due to the words “Kill the Muslims” scrawled on a mirror.

Jilani, a sophomore who grew up in Oak Brook, was unconscious after being attacked at gunpoint by a person wearing a black ski mask in the bathroom.

“I was the first person to reach her,” Notorangelo said. “She sent me a text at 8:47 p.m. that said ‘Emergency. Basement of Schaible [the college’s science building]. Bathroom.”

Jilani is thought to have been attacked because of her Muslim religion. According to a college spokesperson, Jilani’s locker was defaced with a drawing of a swastika and the words “Die Muslims” last week.

The week before, Jilani and two other students were the victims of verbal assaults at an Amnesty International event on campus.

According to her friends, Jilani has bruised ribs and a severe concussion. College officials put the school on lockdown shortly after the attack Thursday.

Several students and faculty, including College President S. Alan Ray, spoke at a gathering this afternoon in the college’s quad.

“In the aftermath, it’s clearer than ever the support for women and safety and security at the college are top priorities,” Charley Henderson, college spokesperson, said. “Whether it’s [through the] police or detectives or the dean of students and counselors, efforts are being made.”

Notorangelo said she felt the school responded in the best way it knew how since it is the first such incident at the college.

Ray said that the college is providing counseling to the school community, escort assistance to Muslim students, excused absences to individuals who don’t feel safe going to class and other services.

Freshman Meghan Merklein said she thought the attack was unacceptable and that she would be more careful when heading home from classes.

“Why would someone want to do this?” she said.