A student of Indian origin at Purdue University in the United States was killed in his dormitory early Wednesday, NBC News reported. His Korean roommate has been arrested for what the Purdue University Police chief Lesley Wiete described as an “unprovoked and senseless” murder.
The victim, identified as 20-year-old Varun Manish Chheda, was studying data science at the university located in Indiana.
The suspect, Ji Min Sha, is a junior studying cyber security. The 22-year-old himself called emergency number 911 around 12.45 am on Wednesday after stabbing Chheda to death, Wiete said at a press conference.
While authorities did not reveal the details of the call, they said the murder took place at McCutcheon Hall on the western edge of the campus where Chheda and Sha shared a room.
At the press conference, Wiete said Sha was taken into custody minutes after he called up the authorities and booked for murder.
As the Korean student was being taken by the police, he told reporters, “I love my family” in response to a question on why he committed the crime.
According to a preliminary autopsy report, Chheda died due to “multiple sharp force traumatic injuries”, NBC News reported. His death was declared to be a homicide. The final autopsy results are pending toxicology, the coroner’s office told NBC News.
Purdue University President Mitch Daniels said there was no threat to anyone in the campus.
“This is as tragic an event as we can imagine happening on our campus and our hearts and thoughts go out to all of those affected by this terrible event,” Daniels said in a statement. “We do not have all the details yet. Our Purdue University Police Department is conducting a thorough investigation of this incident so that we all may learn more about what transpired.”
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