Anthony Nazaire
A statement from the university says that Anthony Nazaire, 19, of Brooklyn, was fatally stabbed at a campus intersection following a party at Willard Straight Hall that was sponsored by a Cornell fraternity, Omega Psi Phi. Another student from Ithaca College was stabbed in the incident. He was treated at a local hospital for his injuries and released.
Hunter R. Rawlings III, interim president at Cornell, urged witnesses to the stabbing to come forward.
"I call on all members of the university community who have any information that would aid in the investigation to contact law enforcement officials," Rawlings says. "Of the many eyewitnesses, including those who may possess cell-phone videos, some have given testimony or provided videos while others have not."
The New York Daily News reports that the stabbing occurred as Nazaire was trying to help a sick friend leave the party. The friend accidentally bumped a woman’s shoulder and sparked a bloody brawl, witnesses say.
Ithaca College says that, as a precaution, it is increasing campus police patrols, but College President Tom Rochon says the Ithaca campus and its surroundings are safe.
"I want to reassure everyone, especially our new students, that violent crime of any type is extraordinarily unusual on our campuses and in the local community," Rochon says.
WCBS-TV reports that Nazaire lived in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. He was a sophomore majoring in business administration at Ithaca College.
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