The two individuals involved in the Sept. 22 stabbing incident at Boston University College of Fine Arts did not know each other, contradicting the original BU Alert.
The BU Alert sent that night stated that the BU Police Department believed it was “interpersonal violence” and that they knew each other beforehand. The people involved, one of whom is a student and another an alum, did not know each other and there was no altercation leading up to the incident.
Harvey Young, the Dean of CFA, wrote in an email to the CFA faculty and staff Sept. 30 that the information was sent based on the understanding of what happened available then and there is no “personal relationship or close familiarity between them.”
“Last Thursday, an individual in the CFA building was stabbed and received medical attention for an injury,” Harvey wrote. “The alleged assailant was taken into police custody last Saturday.”
Alexanda Deal, a litigator with Paik Brewington & Deal representing the victim, wrote in an email that they are looking into “concerns and assessing possible next steps.”
“We do have concerns about the way in which BU handled this matter, including whether it may have been preventable in the first place, as well as whether BU appropriately addressed the incident after it occurred,” Deal wrote in an email.
Bruce Casillas, a sophomore in the College of Fine Arts, was at the scene of the incident when the victim approached him for help. The victim told him that they did not know who the attacker was.
“It was completely different from what the BU Alert said,” said Casillas. “It was kind of frustrating because I was more inclined to believe (the victim) than the BU Alert, mostly because I was there.”
Although Casillas said the response from emergency personnel was fast, recalling that it took three minutes for the paramedics to arrive after the 911 phone call, he saw complaints online regarding the delay in the BU Alert being sent. The attack happened at 8:43 p.m. and the alert was sent at 11:33 p.m.
“CFA or BU needs to let people know the consequences of whatever happened to that person,” he said. “The only thing that would make me feel somewhat unsafe is that the appropriate consequences weren’t taken.”
Nora Cannizzaro, a sophomore in CFA, said an attack like this was “unexpected,” but considers it to be a “freak incident.”
“It’s definitely a weird occurrence,” Cannizzaro said. “I feel like I wouldn’t expect it to happen here or anywhere, honestly.”
CFA freshman Elaine Chiu said while she does feel safe on campus, she noted that anyone can walk into the CFA building.
“I was honestly really shocked because I had been inside the CFA building,” Chiu said about the incident. “So when it happened when I first came here, it was just overall just really, really shocking.”
Daulton Templet, a freshman in CFA, questioned why the information was wrong in the BU Alert, but said he does feel safe on campus.
“I want to know why (BUPD) thought they knew each other,” Templet said. “I just would want to know more about why it happened.”
Cannizzaro said that overall, students generally feel safe at the College.
“It would be nice to ensure safety for everyone, but I don’t really know how they would go about doing that,” Cannizzaro said. “With card access and everything here, I think I feel pretty secure.”
