Police: Collegetown stabbing not a random act
Police say a 27-year-old Dryden man who was stabbed in the leg Wednesday night on the Stewart Avenue Bridge in Ithaca likely knew the suspects.
The incident is the second stabbing in just over a month in the City of Ithaca. On Aug. 28, Ithaca College student Anthony Nazaire was fatally stabbed on Cornell University's campus. Police say the two stabbings appear unrelated.
No arrests have been made in either stabbing.
According to a report shortly after the stabbing Wednesday night, Ithaca Police Deputy Chief Vincent Monticello said the victim was wounded with a knife after an altercation on the sidewalk near the bridge, which stretches over Cascadilla Creek.
The victim, who was treated at a local hospital, told police he saw more than one person taking items from his vehicle. Monticello said there was a fight between the victim and two men, and the victim was wounded in the leg. The two suspects reportedly fled the area on foot, and one was reported to possibly have a gun.
Thursday afternoon, Ithaca Police Officer Jamie Williamson said police are "quite certain" the victim and suspect or suspects knew each other. "There is much more to the story than was originally reported to us," Williamson said.
Chief John Barber said in a news release Thursday that the stabbing was not random.
“We have determined that the stabbing last night was not a random act of violence, and that the victim and the suspects knew each other. My investigators are working vigorously to develop solid information regarding what occurred. At this very moment, they are tracking down leads in the pursuit of justice. If you have any information that would aid the Ithaca Police Department in this investigation, please contact us," Barber said in a statement.
The suspects were described as two black men, one possibly wearing a red T-shirt and the other with a "man bun," according to the release from the Ithaca Police Department. Police are continuing to interview witnesses for better descriptions. Both suspects were seen fleeing in the direction of the cemetery on Stewart Avenue. Additional information indicated that one of the men might be in possession of a semi-automatic handgun.
Cornell University Student Assembly tweeted that a suspect fled west and might be armed with a handgun. While Cornell's emergency alert system originally told students to avoid the area or shelter in place, at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, the system sent an update that the suspect was believed to have left the area, and the shelter-in-place order was lifted. The alert noted that the suspects were still at large and police had extra patrols in the area.
The stabbing victim was taken to a regional hospital. Bangs Ambulance and the Ithaca Fire Department responded, according to the Tompkins County Dispatch Center.
Cornell Interim President Hunter R. Rawlings III issued a statement late Wednesday that the victim was "unaffiliated with Cornell."
"All our thoughts are with the victim as we wish him a full and speedy recovery," Rawlings said in the statement. "Tonight’s incident is particularly troubling, as it comes a little more than four weeks after Ithaca College student Anthony Nazaire was murdered in a stabbing on Campus Road, an incident that is still actively being investigated."
The Ithaca Police Department was on scene until about 9:30 p.m. gathering evidence on the bridge. Cornell University Police, the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office, New York State Police and the Cayuga Heights Police assisted in the initial response, according to the dispatch center. Police, ambulance and fire were called at 7:41 p.m.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Ithaca Police Department at 607-272-3245.
Follow Simon Wheeler on Twitter @ijphotos.