Three SU students stabbed early Sunday morning, suspect in custody
Updated: Sunday 12:01 p.m.
Three Syracuse University students were stabbed at 1 a.m. Sunday as a group of men tried to enter the Alpha Tau Omega house on Walnut Place, said Sgt. Tom Connellan of the Syracuse Police Department. The students were taken to University Hospital at 1:45 a.m. and all are in stable condition, said Donna Lee, a charging nurse at University Hospital.
Police arrested one suspect immediately after the incident and are still searching for three others, Connellan said.
The suspect, Rashaun Cameron, 20, of Syracuse, and three other men tried to enter the ATO house Sunday morning through the front door. Two brothers, Nicholas Condit, 20, and John Tate, 19, went to the front of the house to tell them to leave.
Someone from the group shouted, ‘We’re the Alpha Beta Bloods!’ Tate told police.
Cameron kicked and punched Condit, knocking him to the ground. He stabbed Condit four times. Condit suffered wounds to the arm pit, lower back and right arm. Tate tried to take the knife away from Cameron and was stabbed in the process, Connellan said.
A third brother, Ryan Saroya, 22, tried to help Condit and Tate but was kicked in the face. Saroya was stabbed in the waist during the fight, Connellan said.
As the group ran away, brothers signaled an SU Department of Public Safety officer driving by in a marked car. The officer chased Cameron down and arrested him. Syracuse Police later recovered a knife.
Cameron has been charged with two of the stabbings. Police declined to comment on if there was a second stabber or if Cameron stabbed all three.
Cameron was arraigned Sunday morning on a count of assault in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree. He is being held at the Onondaga County Justice Center, Connellan said.
Police are searching for the three members of the group who got away, but received few details on their appearance.
Two of the brothers were released from University Hospital early Sunday morning and another is being held for observation, Lee said.
‘Obviously folks need to be cognizant of events they’re going to be told,’ said DPS Chief Tony Callisto. ‘They need to report anybody suspicious immediately. And folks need to be using their best judgment.’
Eddie Banks-Crosson, director of fraternity and sorority affairs who was at the scene Sunday morning, said he plans to evaluate the situation before acting.
‘I plan to make sure that my students are serviced properly and that we are meeting their needs at this point,’ Banks-Crosson said.
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Published on October 18, 2009 at 12:00 pm