Dec. 14 (UPI) — New York City police arrested a 13-year-old suspect in the stabbing death of an 18-year-old college student in a park the day before, law enforcement officials said Friday.
Officials said the suspect, whose name wasn’t released because of his age, faces second-degree murder, robbery and a weapons-related charge. The suspect was charged as a juvenile.
Police didn’t say if the suspect was the one who directly killed Tessa Majors, a freshman at Barnard College. The New York City Police Department was searching for two other people who may have been involved in the attack.
The NYPD said Majors was stabbed Thursday evening in Morningside Park near the college.
“During the struggle, one of the individuals pulled out a knife and stabbed her several times,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said. “She staggered her way up the street. One of the security guards saw her and called 911.”
Doctors pronounced her dead later at the hospital.
“We are devastated by the senseless loss of our beautiful and talented Tess. We are thankful for the incredible outpouring of love and support we have received from across the country,” Majors’ family Friday in a statement. “We would also like to express our appreciation for the efforts of the men and women of the NYPD, who continue to work diligently on this case.”
Police sources said the 13-year-old who was arrested had a knife in his possession and implicated himself in the slaying. It’s unclear if the knife was the murder weapon.
