Boy, 13, arrested in killing of Barnard College freshman

NEW YORK (AP) — A 13-year-old boy has been arrested in the fatal stabbing of a Barnard College freshman, according to two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the investigation.

The boy is charged in the slaying of 18-year-old Tessa Majors in the course of a robbery and will be tried as a juvenile delinquent in family court, the people said. They were not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity Friday.

Majors, of Charlottesville, Virginia, was walking in Manhattan’s Morningside Park just before 7 p.m. Wednesday when she was accosted by an unknown number of people and stabbed during a struggle, police officials said.

Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said Thursday that possibly as many as three attackers were involved.

Majors was attacked during an armed robbery, according to the president of Barnard College, which is part of the Ivy League’s Columbia University.

She then staggered to a nearby street, where she was spotted by a security guard who called 911, Harrison said. She died at a hospital.

Investigators recovered a knife Thursday but were not certain whether it was connected to Majors’ death.