A 13-year-old boy has been arrested in the fatal stabbing of an 18-year-old Barnard College freshman, according to two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the investigation.
The teen was caught trespassing at the building on the day of the attack wearing clothes that matched a description of the suspect, according to CBS.
Police say Tessa Majors was walking in Manhattan’s Morningside Park early Wednesday evening when she was accosted by an unknown number of people and stabbed. She then staggered to a nearby street, where she was spotted by a security guard who called 911.
Police arrested the suspect for criminal trespass and found a knife while searching him. Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison told the Associated Press that as many as three attackers may have been involved in the attack. Investigators recovered a knife Thursday but were not certain whether it was connected to Majors’ death.
In a letter sent to the campus, Barnard's president Sian Leah Beilock called the incident "an unthinkable tragedy."
"Please know that we are all grieving together and I am thinking of you as we process this awful news as a community," she wrote.
Lee Bollinger, president of Columbia University, also addressed the student body.
"I personally and members of the University’s senior leadership are working closely with the NYPD and with Barnard to better understand the details of the attack and will keep you updated as we learn more," he wrote.
Barnard College is a private liberal arts college in New York City affiliated with Columbia University. It was founded in 1889 as a response to Columbia's refusal to admit women.