NEW YORK — A 25-year-old man was taken into custody after he allegedly fatally stabbed a Columbia University student and wounded a tourist from Italy in separate attacks in upper Manhattan Thursday night, authorities and police sources said.
Police responding to a 911 call just before 11 p.m. on Thursday found a 30-year-old man near West 123rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Morningside Heights with a stab wound to his stomach, the NYPD said.
The man was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside, where he was pronounced dead, police said. Columbia University President Lee Bollinger on Friday identified the man as Davide Giri, a graduate student at the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
As NYPD officers were investigating the stabbing, they found a 27-year-old man near West 110th Street and Columbus Avenue with a stab wound to his torso, the department said.
The 27-year-old was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside in stable condition, police said. Police sources said he is a tourist from Italy.
A 25-year-old man who fit the description of the attacker was arrested in Central Park after officers said he was seen threatening a third person with a knife. Police officers recovered the knife, and charges against the man are pending.
The NYPD said both stabbings appeared to be unprovoked.
In a letter addressed to Columbia University students and staffers, Bollinger called the news of Giri’s death “unspeakably sad and deeply shocking, as it took place only steps from our campus.”
“The University is working closely with NYPD to learn more details of the attack and, of course, we will keep you updated as we learn more,” he wrote. “On behalf of the entire Columbia community, I send my deepest condolences to Davide’s family.”
The university held a candlelight vigil for Giri on Butler Lawn at 5 p.m. Friday. The school is also offering counseling services to members of its community.
At the ceremony, Lee Bollinger, the president of Columbia University, reflected on the kind of person Giri was.
“He was young, and he was at the prime of his life, and taken from us by an act of unfathomable inhumanity, only a few blocks from where we hold this vigil at a moment in history when we are struggling still to cope with a once in a century, nearly overwhelming, global pandemic,” Bollinger said.
Sam Brooks, a student at Columbia, didn’t know Giri, but was touched after attending the vigil.
“It’s horrible for the whole community,” Brooks said. “It’s a large space so it could get quite faceless, but I think when things like this happen, you remember it how brings everyone together, you get more so humanity.”
Some students we spoke to before the vigil said they feel their safety is at risk.
“I’m frightened, of course,” said Shuwen Tang, a Columbia student. “This is happening near campus very frequently, so, yeah, pretty frightened.”
Columbia University posted a message via social media saying they will be adding extra safety patrols.
Giri's death came nearly two years after 18-year-old Barnard College student Tessa Majors was fatally stabbed in Morningside Park. Three teenage boys were arrested and charged in connection with her murder.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story misstated the location of the second stabbing as West 110th Street and Cathedral Parkway. It occurred near 110th Street and Columbus Avenue. Cathedral Parkway and West 110th Street are the same street.