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| Boy, 13, Arrested in Fatal Stabbing of Tessa Majors, Barnard Freshman | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A 13-year-old boy was arrested and charged on Friday in connection with the killing of Tessa Majors, an 18-year-old Barnard student who was fatally stabbed while walking through a park near her campus, law enforcement officials said. | A 13-year-old boy was arrested and charged on Friday in connection with the killing of Tessa Majors, an 18-year-old Barnard student who was fatally stabbed while walking through a park near her campus, law enforcement officials said. |
| The boy, who has not been identified, was charged with murder, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon, one official said. | |
| In his statements to the police, the boy, who lives in Harlem and is 5 feet 5 inches tall, had implicated himself in the attack but had not confessed, the official said. | In his statements to the police, the boy, who lives in Harlem and is 5 feet 5 inches tall, had implicated himself in the attack but had not confessed, the official said. |
| Investigators suspected that the boy was part of a group that attacked Ms. Majors on Wednesday night as she was walking through Morningside Park in Manhattan. | Investigators suspected that the boy was part of a group that attacked Ms. Majors on Wednesday night as she was walking through Morningside Park in Manhattan. |
| Detectives believe two other people participated in the stabbing, the official said. Another law enforcement official said that investigators currently believe the other two are also teenagers. | |
| It remained unclear whether the Manhattan district attorney’s office would charge the boy as an adult or a juvenile delinquent. | |
| Under New York state law, minors charged with certain violent felonies, including second-degree murder, can be tried like adults but are adjudicated as “juvenile offenders” and do not have a permanent criminal record if convicted. | |
| The killing of Ms. Majors, a first-year college student from Virginia who was interested in journalism and played in a rock band, rattled university students and other city residents. | The killing of Ms. Majors, a first-year college student from Virginia who was interested in journalism and played in a rock band, rattled university students and other city residents. |
| “I am absolutely confident that any individuals involved in this terrible, heinous attack will be brought to justice and will be brought to justice quickly,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in his weekly radio appearance on WNYC. | “I am absolutely confident that any individuals involved in this terrible, heinous attack will be brought to justice and will be brought to justice quickly,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in his weekly radio appearance on WNYC. |
| Ms. Majors was walking in the park when she was approached by people near West 116th Street and Morningside Drive, said Rodney Harrison, the Police Department’s chief of detectives, on Thursday. | Ms. Majors was walking in the park when she was approached by people near West 116th Street and Morningside Drive, said Rodney Harrison, the Police Department’s chief of detectives, on Thursday. |
| There was a struggle, and one of the assailants pulled out a knife and stabbed Ms. Majors several times, Chief Harrison said. The attackers then fled, and Ms. Majors staggered up a flight of stairs, out of the park and onto the street, where a campus security guard found her. | There was a struggle, and one of the assailants pulled out a knife and stabbed Ms. Majors several times, Chief Harrison said. The attackers then fled, and Ms. Majors staggered up a flight of stairs, out of the park and onto the street, where a campus security guard found her. |
| Ms. Majors was taken to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s hospital, where she died from her injuries, Chief Harrison said. | Ms. Majors was taken to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s hospital, where she died from her injuries, Chief Harrison said. |
| “We are devastated by the senseless loss of our beautiful and talented Tess,” her family said in a statement on Friday. “We are thankful for the incredible outpouring of love and support we have received from across the country.” | |
| Ms. Majors grew up in Charlottesville, Va., and had just moved to New York for college. She spent her weekends singing and playing punk rock. | Ms. Majors grew up in Charlottesville, Va., and had just moved to New York for college. She spent her weekends singing and playing punk rock. |
| She and her band, Patient 0, had just put out their first album in the fall, and they had played their first New York City concert in October. | She and her band, Patient 0, had just put out their first album in the fall, and they had played their first New York City concert in October. |
| Her father, Robert Inman Majors, who goes by his middle name, is a novelist and teaches creative writing at James Madison University in Virginia. | |
| The park where Ms. Majors was stabbed, near the campuses of Barnard College and Columbia University, is in a precinct in Harlem that has grown safer over the years, with major crimes declining dramatically there over the last 20 years, according to police data. | The park where Ms. Majors was stabbed, near the campuses of Barnard College and Columbia University, is in a precinct in Harlem that has grown safer over the years, with major crimes declining dramatically there over the last 20 years, according to police data. |
| But residents have raised concerns about persistent crime in Morningside Park, even as the neighborhood around it improved, and playgrounds and ball fields replaced patches that were once strewn with crack vials. | But residents have raised concerns about persistent crime in Morningside Park, even as the neighborhood around it improved, and playgrounds and ball fields replaced patches that were once strewn with crack vials. |
| Earlier this year, several people reported that they had been approached from behind in the park and punched by young people. | Earlier this year, several people reported that they had been approached from behind in the park and punched by young people. |
| As of Dec. 8, there had been 20 robberies inside Morningside Park or on its perimeter this year, compared to seven in the same period last year. | As of Dec. 8, there had been 20 robberies inside Morningside Park or on its perimeter this year, compared to seven in the same period last year. |
| Since June, five people have reported being robbed on or near the staircase at 116th Street and Morningside Drive, near the location where Ms. Majors was stabbed. Recently, the police said, several teenagers had been arrested in a pattern of robberies in the area. | Since June, five people have reported being robbed on or near the staircase at 116th Street and Morningside Drive, near the location where Ms. Majors was stabbed. Recently, the police said, several teenagers had been arrested in a pattern of robberies in the area. |
| “It’s terrifying to think that that could happen anywhere,” Mr. de Blasio said on Thursday at a news conference. “It’s unbelievable to me that that could happen here, next to one of our great college campuses.” | “It’s terrifying to think that that could happen anywhere,” Mr. de Blasio said on Thursday at a news conference. “It’s unbelievable to me that that could happen here, next to one of our great college campuses.” |
| William K. Rashbaum, Azi Paybarah, Jan Ransom and Ashley Southall contributed reporting. |