KEY POINTS

  • The 18-year-old Barnard College student, Tessa Majors, was approached by a group of people who had demanded her property.
  • She had suffered multiple stab wounds on her face and body.
  • Police reports said the incident took place at West 116th Street and Morningside Drive at Morningside Park.

A teenage college student was stabbed multiple times and brutally murdered by a group of people at Morningside Park in New York City on Wednesday night.

According to police, the 18-year-old Barnard College student, Tessa Majors, was approached by a group of people who stabbed her several times on her face and body before running away from the scene. Police reports stated that the incident took place at West 116th Street and Morningside Drive at Morningside Park. A person present there at the time reported seeing a group of people running away from the scene.

Majors had tried to exit the park by climbing the stairs before collapsing on the sidewalk in front of a school security guard booth. A security guard found her and contacted 911 after which, she was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The victim's uncharged phone was found on the sidewalk. A woman’s hat and a closed gravity knife were also found in the park.

In a statement released by Barnard College, Sian Leah Beilock, president of the college, said Majors’ family was informed about the incident and were on their way to New York City.

“Tessa was just beginning her journey at Barnard and in life. We mourn this devastating murder of an extraordinary young woman and member of our community. This is an unthinkable tragedy that has shaken us to our core. Please know that we are all grieving together and I am thinking of you as we process this awful news as a community,” she said in the statement while adding that a counseling center would be open throughout Thursday for anyone needing support.

The case was still under investigation and no arrests were made.

crime scene
This is a representational image of a crime-scene tape in Chicago, Illinois, in March 2005. Getty Images/Scott Olson