A 30-year-old doctoral student at Columbia University was killed on Thursday night, and an Italian tourist was injured, after an “ecstatic” man went on a random stabbing rampage in New York City.
The suspect, a 25-year-old gang member on parole, was nabbed by the NYPD in Central Park after allegedly threatening a third man with a large kitchen knife, police said.
The victim as a Ph.D. candidate in computer science who had studied at universities in Italy, China, Chicago, and New York. He had authored several journal articles, and given speeches and tutorials around the world.
His résumé mentions a love of classical piano and soccer, and says he volunteered leading summer camps for many years. Father Franco Gallo, parish priest in Giri’s northern Italian home town of Alba—famous for truffles—said Giri was well known in the community for the volunteer work he did with the church. “He was a very devout young man,” he told The Daily Beast, calling the murder a “senseless tragedy.”
The suspect “was ecstatic” as he repeatedly plunged the knife into his unsuspecting victim, the witness said.
