JERK STABS 15 ON TEXAS COLLEGE CAMPUS

At least 15 people were injured and a suspect is in custody after a stabbing at the Cy-Fair campus of Lone Star College Tuesday morning.

The stabbings happened about 11:20 a.m. at the campus at 9191 Barker Cypress, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Thomas Gilliland, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said one suspect was detained after he was wrestled to the ground by a student.

He is a 21-year-old student, seen below, Sheriff Adrian Garcia said in a statement. Video evidence indicates there are no other suspects for now, the sheriff said.

“The entire campus is being searched for evidence,” the statement said. The incident happened near the campus Health Science Center, according to an alert on the college website.

Capt. Robert Rasa of the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department said 12 people were rushed to area hospitals after the stabbings while three others were treated on the scene. He said many of the injuries were stab wounds to the face and neck area.

Six patients were taken to the Memorial Hermann Texas Trauma Institute, which is part of Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Alejandra Rodriguez. Four of those patients were transported by Life Flight medical helicopter and two were taken by ground ambulance, she said.

At midafternoon Tuesday, two of the patients at Hermann were in critical condition, three were upgraded to good condition and one was discharged, Rodriguez said. The other hospitalized victims had minor injuries and were taken to North Cypress Medical Center, Rasa said.

Gilliland said investigators were trying to determine what sparked the stabbings, but they appeared to be random. No weapon has been found and initial reports indicate the suspect may have used a knife or pencil. Students could be seen running away from buildings and the campus was locked down as police searched for a potential second attacker and relayed the news to other students. Two buildings were affected.

Michelle Alvarez saw the attacker running toward other students and tried to back out of the way. She said she didn’t even feel it as he swiped her neck. There was a small red line running down her wind pipe. “He came running and swinging at my neck, as I tried to get out of the way,” she said.

Cassius Roberts, 22, said he saw a man running with several people chasing and trying to stop him. He didn’t know what was going on as he walked from the building to his car. He returned to campus and saw a victim with her mouth slashed open. He saw a student wrestle the suspect to the ground.

“When I was walking down the halls, I was just looking over my shoulder and left feeling wary of everything,” he said. “As the story unfolded I realized it was horrible.” Laura Pedraza, 19, said she saw everyone running and screaming and crying and suddenly the campus was locked down. She was at the scene in the aftermath of the attack.

“It was really scary,” she said. “We didn’t know what was going on.” This is the second incident in recent months at the college.

On Jan. 22, three people were wounded in a shooting at the college’s North Harris campus in the 2700 block of W. W. Thorne. Confusion initially surrounded that incident, with one of the victims being erroneously charged in the shooting. Later, charges were dropped against him and deputies identified the gunmen as Trey Foster, who was then arrested and charged in the incident.

The Cy-Fair campus serves about 19,000 students. It is one of six campuses that make up Lone Star, which touts itself as the fast-growing community college system in the nation.

SOURCE: HOUSTONCHRONICLE