RADFORD, Va. – UPDATE
An 18-year-old Roanoke man is under arrest after multiple reported stabbings.
Elijah Z. Nichols is charged with aggravated malicious wounding. He is a freshman at Radford University, according to a university spokesman. He has been placed on interim suspension.
Three RU students were taken to the Carilion New River Medical Center. As of Monday morning, one of them remains in the hospital and is in good condition, according to a university spokeswoman.
Members of Phi Kappa Sigma live in the house on Lawrence St., where the attacks occurred. It's unclear if any of the students involved were fraternity members.
Nichols is being held at the New River Valley Regional Jail without bond.
Radford students say it was a Thursday night party off campus that was interrupted because of some type of commotion inside this house.
Brian Cerutti is a senior at the University and lives next door.
"There was a ton of cop cars here. Some in the driveway. Some in the street and I got a word from a few of my friends there was a stabbing. When you here something like that on a college campus, all alarms go off," said Cerutti.
He was notified by the University of what was going on.
"Right away when they knew they had the guy in custody, I received that email which is good," said Cerutti.
Sebastian Middlehof says he was on his way inside the party when things spilled out in to the streets.
"One of the dudes that was in the fraternity, he ran out and he was bleeding and he said hey somebody catch him. He just stabbed me and that guy just took off running and all his fraternity brothers ran off after the guy," said Middlehof.
Police won't confirm exactly what happened inside to cause the stabbing. But students say there was big crowd at the party.
"Outside, at least 75 to 100 people. I don't know about inside, but outside the streets were covered with people," said Middlehof.
ORIGINAL STORY
Radford police are investigating multiple reported stabbings.
The alleged attacks happened in the 1300 block of Lawrence St. around 10:50 p.m. Thursday. That's a few blocks away from Radford University's Student Health Center.
Police say the suspect is a black male who was wearing blue shorts, a black shirt and a backward-facing baseball cap.
There's no word yet on how badly the victims were hurt.
Anyone with information about this crime should contact the Radford City Police Department at 540-731-3624
The Radford University Police Department sent this message to students at 11:43 p.m.:
The Radford City Police Department took a report of multiple aggravated assaults which occurred in the 1300 block of Lawrence Avenue earlier tonight 9/28/2017 at approximately 10:50 PM.
Multiple victims were reported to have been stabbed by a suspect described as a black male wearing blue shorts and a black shirt. The male was wearing a backwards facing ball cap.
The Radford University Police Department is reminding the community of the following safety tips regarding safety on and around campus:
• Stay alert to your surroundings.
• Walk in groups and be aware.
• Immediately report suspicious behavior or incidents to police