Suspect in Murder of NYC Student Flees on Way to Questioning

14-year-old was being driven to police precinct
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 17, 2019 4:30 AM CST
Updated Dec 17, 2019 6:22 AM CST
Suspect in Murder of NYC Student Flees on Way to Questioning
People pause and place a candle at a makeshift memorial for Tessa Majors inside the Barnard campus, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Police in New York City are searching for a 14-year-old suspect in the murder of Barnard College student Tessa Majors who was supposed to come in for questioning Monday. Sources tell the New York Daily News that the teenager was being driven to a police precinct Monday afternoon by either a relative or a lawyer when the boy left the vehicle and ran off. Law enforcement sources tell NBC New York that officers spent hours scouring the 125th Street and Park Avenue area of Harlem for the teen. Police helicopters assisted the search. Majors, 18, was stabbed to death in Morningside Park on Wednesday in what police say was a robbery gone wrong.

A 13-year-old suspect taken into custody Friday told police that he saw one of two 14-year-old classmates stab Majors after she fought back during the robbery. The 13-year-old has been charged with second-degree murder and other crimes. Police say they are still trying to identify all the teens involved in the attack. Majors' family issued a statement Monday thanking all the "thousands of strangers who have taken the time to console us, share in our grief, and let us know we are not alone during this terrible time." They added: "Tess would not have been surprised by this beautiful reminder of our shared humanity." (On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio slammed an "infuriating claim" made by the head of the NYPD's union.)

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