UT Austin Stabbing Leaves 1 Dead, 3 Injured

UT Austin stabbing suspect Kendrex White, who is also a student, has been apprehended.

A University of Texas at Austin student stabbed four fellow students on Monday afternoon, one fatally.

He has been identified as 21-year-old Kendrex J. White, reports KCEN.

White has been charged with murder and allegedly told police he did not remember the attack, an arrest affidavit shows. When asked by campus police if he knew why he was being questioned, White responded “yes, accusations of pushing someone down and I think using a bladed weapon.”

White allegedly stabbed four male students in the span of one block on campus near Gregory Gym, reports the Dallas News.

A university police officer responded to the scene around 1:50 p.m. local time, less than two minutes after receiving the emergency call. The officer saw White walking around with a bowie-style hunting knife, drew his weapon and took him into custody, according to UT Police Chief David Carter.

“As soon as officers arrived they put the individual into custody, so there was no ongoing threat,” Carter said.

The deceased victim has been identified as freshman Harrison Brown.

The three surviving victims were taken to the hospital. Two of those students have been released from the hospital, according to university officials.

The motive for the attack remains under investigation, but Carter said at a Tuesday press conference that White had previously been involuntarily committed in another city for mental health issues.

“This was not a conspiracy,” Carter said. “This was not a person that had a vendetta against any particular group.”

Friends of White told the Dallas News he was an active volunteer in organizations and junior Korbin Springer, who took a class with White, described him as “the nicest guy.”

But Springer also said White had missed nearly a month of Spanish class, which was unusual, and returned saying he’d been in an accident because of a seizure. KVUE reports that White was arrested for driving under the influence in April.

Classes were cancelled for the rest of the day and evening.

UT Austin President Greg Fenves released the following message in response to the incident:

This afternoon, there was an attack involving multiple stabbings, which led to one death and three other victims who were seriously injured. A suspect has been apprehended and is in custody. UTPD and campus security continue to evaluate the situation and at this time we do not believe there is an ongoing threat.

Due to this horrific and senseless tragedy in the heart of our campus, we are canceling all classes and scheduled events for the rest of the afternoon and evening. A number of buildings are closed or have limited access because of the ongoing investigation.

I encourage all students, staff and faculty to follow UTPD on Twitter for updates as the investigation progresses, and we will update you as more information becomes available.  Please find community among your peers and help each other. Counseling and support services are available in the Student Activity Center or by calling 512-475-6628.

There are no words to describe my sense of loss. Campus safety is our highest priority and we will investigate this tragic incident to the greatest extent possible. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, the witnesses to the crime, and every member of Longhorn nation. We all mourn today.

Campus Safety will provide additional updates when they become available.

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About the Author

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Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.

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