USF students involved in double stabbing, suspect believed to be dead: HCSO
USF students linked to off-campus stabbing
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says the suspect in a double stabbing at an off-campus student housing complex near the University of South Florida is believed to be the dead person found in a separate investigation on East Fletcher Avenue Wednesday afternoon. FOX 13's Kylie Jones reports.
UNIVERSITY, Fla. - The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says the suspect in a double stabbing at an off-campus student housing complex near the University of South Florida is believed to be the dead person found in a separate investigation on East Fletcher Avenue Wednesday afternoon.
Apartment complex double stabbing near USF
What we know:
According to HCSO, a man called 911 around 4:30 a.m. from a man reporting that he and another person had been stabbed at the Halo 46 Apartments on North 46th Street.
HCSO said both victims were taken for medical treatment and are currently listed in stable condition.
The USF Police Department says the suspect and one of the victims are roommates and students at USF. The second victim is not related to the university.
Separate death investigation near USF
Dig deeper:
On Wednesday afternoon, HCSO announced it is also investigating a death at 3600 E. Fletcher Ave., the address of Union on Fletcher apartments, which is about a mile from the double stabbing scene.
At this time, detectives believe the person found dead in that investigation is the suspect connected to the earlier stabbing.
USF police say there's no threat to the school community.
USF student reactions
What they're saying:
USF students at Halo 46 Apartments described the scene early Wednesday morning.
"This morning, we were walking my dog, and we saw, like, yellow tape and like, five police cars with, like, their lights on, and we see, like, a bloody shirt and then, like, all the blood that's on the ground," USF student Brooke Lahciev said.
Mackenzie Miller, another USF student, says she walked out of her apartment to see bloodstains lining the hallway.
"So, I'm walking, and I'm walking, and it keeps going, and I go down the same stairs, that stairwell over there, it goes, and it goes until it goes out the door, and I'm like, ‘Wow,’" Miller said.
Unanswered investigation details
What we don't know:
Investigators have not yet disclosed how the dead individual was found, the cause of death, or what circumstances led from the stabbing incident to the separate death investigation.
It's also not clear how the second stabbing victim is connected to either of the two USF students.
What's next:
The name of the dead person will be released once family members have been notified, according to HCSO.
Detectives are continuing to gather evidence and determine the full sequence of events. Updates will be released as they become available.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from official statements from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and the University of South Florida Police Department, and interviews with students who live at the location of the double stabbing.