Knife-wielding student slashes 4 at University of Texas, kills 1

AUSTIN — A student with a hunting knife slashed one person to death and injured three others Monday at the University of Texas, causing a brief stir of terror on campus before the man was arrested by police.

The suspect was identified by police as Kendrex J. White, 21. A motive for the attack is unknown.

Student Rachel Prichett said she was standing in line at a food truck outside a gym when she saw a man with a knife resembling a machete approach the person standing behind her.

“The guy was standing next to me,” Prichett said. “He grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved the knife in it. I just started running as fast as I could.”

Police said they believe the victims in the 1:46 p.m. attack are all around ages 20 or 21. There is no ongoing threat to the campus community, the university said.

University Police Chief David Carter described the weapon as a “Bowie-style” hunting knife. He said the stabbings occurred within a one-block area as the attacker “calmly walked around the plaza.”

Another student, Ray Arredondo, said he was walking to his car when a mass of students near the gym started running.

“They were just screaming, ‘Run! Get out of here!’” Arredondo said.

Provost Maurie McInnis said that classes are cancelled for Monday after the "violent attack."

Yellow police tape cordoned off a swath of the campus late Monday as police technicians scanned the area of the attack. Students milled around, trying to decide how to cross campus and still absorbing the deadly act that occurred as they emerged from classes or broke for lunch.

The attack occurred in the central campus, just a short walk from the administration building and the landmark clock tower that was the scene of one of the nation's most horrific mass shootings in 1966.

The area is also where students often congregate in front of the main library and where a popular food truck serves Korean barbecue.

Calvin Liu, 20, a junior, had just come out of a computer science class at the McCombs School of Business when he saw a stampede of students running away from the scene of the stabbing nearby. He saw one of the bloodied victims slouched on a nearby set of steps and returned into the safety of the building.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Liu said. “If I was just five minutes earlier, I could’ve been in the middle of that.” He paused. “I’m trying not to think of that,” he said.

Alma Muñoz, 20, a sophomore, said she had walked through the scene of the stabbing minutes earlier and had just reached Guadalupe Street, which borders campus, when word of the stabbing began spreading among friends. “At first, we thought it was a mass shooting,” she said. The fact the perpetrator used a knife didn’t make the act any less sinister, Muñoz said.

“The fact that some kids were eating not knowing what was about to happen next,” she said. “You just never know.”

David Tran, 19, a sophomore, said the incident is likely to reawaken the debate on campus over whether students should be allowed to carry guns. Last year, Texas lawmakers passed a law allowing license holders to carry handguns on most areas of UT and other public universities. Proponents of the law said it would discourage acts such as the one that occurred Monday or allow gun-holders to end them quickly, while opponents warned it could lead to more gun violence on campus.

“It’s kind of weird,” Tran said. “People were so worried about guns last year. And this was a knife.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statement expressing concern for the victims, and also expressed concern for a first responder shot in Dallas in an unrelated event.

"Our prayers go out to all those affected by today's tragic events," Abbott said. "I have been briefed by the Department of Public Safety on both incidents, and have also talked to University of Texas at Austin President Greg Fenves. As the investigations into these heinous crimes continue, I have offered all available state resources to both Dallas and the University of Texas to assist in any effort."

University President Fenves called the incident "horrific" in a statement released Monday afternoon.

"There are no words to describe my sense of loss," Fenves said. "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."

CONTRIBUTING: Associated Press

Statement On Dallas Shooting & UT Austin Attack