13-year-old arrested in fatal stabbing of New York college student

An 18-year-old college student was stabbed to death Wednesday by a 13-year-old boy during an apparent mugging while walking in a park near her college campus, police said.

Tessa Majors was walking through Morningside Park near Barnard College and Columbia University's campuses around 7 p.m. when she was approached by at least three people, police said.

During the altercation, one of the attackers pulled out a knife and stabbed Majors several times. The group fled and Majors struggled up a flight of stairs out of the park and onto the street. A security guard at Columbia University found her and called for help, ABC News reported.

Majors was taken to a hospital where she died.

"We lost a very special, very talented, and very well-loved young woman," her family said in a statement, The New York Times reported. "Tess shone, bright in this world, and our hearts will never be the same."

On Thursday, police noticed a 13-year-old boy in the lobby of a building near where the stabbing took place because he was wearing clothes matching the description of someone involved in the incident, CNN reported. A knife was found on the teen when he was taken into custody on suspicion of criminal trespass. Investigators said he admitted to the robbery attempt and stabbing, CNN reported.

Majors, a first-year student at Barnard, had quickly made a mark around campus. Majors was a writer and musician who had recently celebrated her band’s first performance.

View this post on Instagram

Safe to say the first NYC show went well ;)

A post shared by Tess (@tessmajors) on

An 18-year-old college student was stabbed to death Wednesday by a 13-year-old boy during an apparent mugging while walking in a park near her college campus, police said.

Tessa Majors was walking through Morningside Park near Barnard College and Columbia University's campuses around 7 p.m. when she was approached by at least three people, police said.

During the altercation, one of the attackers pulled out a knife and stabbed Majors several times. The group fled and Majors struggled up a flight of stairs out of the park and onto the street. A security guard at Columbia University found her and called for help, ABC News reported.

Majors was taken to a hospital where she died.

"We lost a very special, very talented, and very well-loved young woman," her family said in a statement, The New York Times reported. "Tess shone, bright in this world, and our hearts will never be the same."

On Thursday, police noticed a 13-year-old boy in the lobby of a building near where the stabbing took place because he was wearing clothes matching the description of someone involved in the incident, CNN reported. A knife was found on the teen when he was taken into custody on suspicion of criminal trespass. Investigators said he admitted to the robbery attempt and stabbing, CNN reported.

Majors, a first-year student at Barnard, had quickly made a mark around campus. Majors was a writer and musician who had recently celebrated her band’s first performance.

About the Author