A Barnard College student was fatally stabbed Wednesday night in an apparent armed robbery just blocks from the Manhattan campus.
Investigators on Thursday were searching for suspects in the murder of 18-year-old Tessa Majors, a first-year college student from Virginia. Her body was discovered by a security guard Wednesday near an entrance to Morningside Park at West 116th Street and Morningside Avenue, according to reports. No arrests had been made as of Thursday.
“The close-knit community at Barnard College is in shock right now. We’ve lost a young woman full of potential in a senseless act of violence,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio on Twitter. “I want every student and every member of faculty to know your city will be with you in the days ahead.”
De Blasio added that the city would immediately increase NYPD presence in the area.
Authorities believe Majors was stabbed multiple times in an apparent armed robbery. A witness reportedly told police that they saw a group of four to five men approach Majors before her death, and a struggle ensued. She suffered multiple stab wounds, and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. She did not have a purse or wallet on her when she was found, according to officers, and her cell phone was discovered a short distance away. Investigators also found a knife near the scene, but it was not clear whether or not that was the murder weapon.
Now, police are pleading with the public to help them find answers.
“Last night’s murder of a young woman near Morningside Park is despicable, unacceptable — and goes against everything NYC stands for,” said NYPD Chief Terence Monahan, adding that detectives “are working tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice.”
Police are asking anyone with information to contact @NYPDTips at #800577TIPS.
An investigator with knowledge of the case told NBC New York that police are probing whether the attack may be connected to another nearby robbery from Dec. 5. In that incident, a 19-year-old man was robbed near 114th Street and Riverside Drive by two men who fled the park afterward.
