Police in New York have arrested a 13-year-old boy in connection with the brutal stabbing of 18-year-old Barnard College freshman Tessa Majors.
Majors was fatally stabbed as she made her way through Morning side Park in Manhattan’s Upper West Side near her campus around 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Police say Majors was approached by three youths intent on robbing her. When she resisted, one of the boys pulled out a knife and stabbed her multiple times as she screamed for help.
The group fled and Majors struggled up a flight of steps and onto the street where she collapsed.
A security guard found her and called 911. Majors was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, ABC News reports.
On Thursday, police noticed a 13-year-old boy in the lobby of a building near the park. His clothes matched the description of one of the attackers.
Police found a knife on the teen when he was taken into custody on suspicion of criminal trespass. Investigators say he confirmed his involvement in the robbery attempt and fatal stabbing.
Two other teens, who were persons of interest, were released from custody on Wednesday.
Majors was a popular first-year student on the campus. She studied journalism and played in 2 rock bands. She recently celebrated her band’s first live performance and she was booked to perform in her hometown over the holiday break.
Majors’ family is devastated by the senseless tragedy. She was the daughter of a novelist and writing professor.
“We lost a very special, very talented, and very well-loved young woman,” her family said in a statement obtained by The New York Times.
“Tess shone bright in this world, and our hearts will never be the same.”
Majors was a member of the LGBT community. Her murder is not believed to be a hate crime.
