A 21-year-old man was arrested for wounding three students and killing one in a stabbing at the University of Texas on Monday, the Associated Press reported. The suspect, Kendrex J. White, was a biology major at the university.
Students were standing outside of the school’s Gregory Gym when at least four male students were stabbed. One student, Rachel Prichett, told the AP that White was standing right next to her before he stabbed someone behind her. “He grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved the knife in it. I just started running as fast as I could,” Prichett said.
.@UTAustin #UT student who was arms length from the stabber just spoke to me. Says stabber was “eerily calm,” he stabbed a student right next to her. pic.twitter.com/c2j51RyQiR
— Nicole Cobler (@nicolecobler) May 1, 2017
Other students ran away as well, screaming and warning other people in the area. First-year student Harrison Brown died at the scene, and the other three taken to the hospital have not been identified. Once the University of Texas Police arrived at the gym, they approached White and arrested him.
Austin Police said in a live press conference Tuesday morning that White was an individual “suffering from a mental health issue” and was “recently involuntarily committed.” They cannot find anything that suggests he was targeting specific people or groups. This makes it even harder for police to find a motive for the stabbings.
Those who knew White suspected something was wrong. One of his classmates told Dallas News that White missed almost a month of Spanish class, and KVUE reported that in April, he was arrested for driving under the influence. Unfortunately, no one mentions discussing White’s mental health or offering help to him. It’s unclear if teachers, deans or advisors reached out to White after his unusual behavior. Until more information is released on White, no one will know if that would have made a difference.