One Ithaca College student was killed and another was injured after being stabbed during a “large fight” on the nearby Cornell University campus early Sunday in Ithaca, New York, officials from both schools said.
Cornell University Police were called to the intersection in front of Olin Hall, which houses Cornell’s school of chemical and biomolecular engineering, just before 2 a.m. There, they found two men had been stabbed, according to a police news release.
Police say the fight broke out after a student-organized event at Cornell, according to a statement from Ithaca College.
Several hundred college-age students attended the event at Willard Straight Hall, the student union, a short walk from the site of the stabbings, and physical altercations broke out after the event, Ithaca police said.
Police did not name the event. The only events on the student union’s calendar late Saturday were movie screenings. There were no events Sunday before 8 a.m.
First responders treated the victims, and police recovered the weapon used, the news release said. Efforts to obtain information on the suspect are ongoing, police said.
One victim was sent to a local hospital for treatment of “serious injuries,” while the other was flown to Upstate Medical Center, a regional trauma center, to be treated for several stab wounds.
Ithaca College President Tom Rochon confirmed both victims were students at the school, a couple of miles south of Cornell. He also confirmed that one of the students died at Cayuga Medical Center, while the student flown to the trauma center was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Ithaca police identified the dead student as Anthony Nazaire, 19, of Brooklyn. He was a sophomore studying business administration, Rochon said.
“He graduated from Brooklyn Theatre Arts High School, and at (Ithaca College) he was a member of the executive board of Brothers4Brothers, a student organization dedicated to empowering men of color on our campus,” Rochon’s statement said.
Ithaca police have asked the school not to release the name of the injured student, the statement said.
The injured student was released after treatment, the Ithaca Police Department said. A homicide investigation is underway. Because there were many motorists and pedestrians in the area at the time, anyone who witnessed the fight at the Ivy League school or captured it on cell phone video is encouraged to contact Ithaca police.
“I hope you will hold these students — along with their families, friends, classmates, and professors — in your thoughts and prayers at this difficult and tragic time,” Rochon’s statement said.
A campus-wide gathering is slated for 4 p.m. on Monday in Ithaca College’s Muller Chapel.
“There is nothing more important than the safety of our community; as such, this incident is deeply disturbing,” said Ryan Lombardi, Cornell’s vice president for student and campus life, in a statement posted online. “Please be sure to take care of yourselves and each other throughout the coming days.”