A grand jury indicted the alleged suspect in the May 1 University of Texas (UT) stabbing spree on four felony charges. The attack left one student dead and three others wounded on the Austin campus.
On Monday, the Travis County grand jury indicted Kendrex White, 21, for the murder of 19-year-old Harrison Brown and three counts of aggravated assault for injuring three other students during his knife-wielding rampage.
Breitbart Texas reported on the details of the attack as the tragic situation unfolded on May 1. Several witnesses said White calmly walked around slashing victims with a large hunting knife. The fatally stabbed freshman Brown sustained insurmountable wounds to his neck. Reportedly, he was the first person knifed by White in a central plaza on the campus where students often congregated. Two of the other injured victims were treated and released from local hospitals the same day while a third was hospitalized.
Following the terrifying stabbings, UT President Greg Fenves released an initial statement, expressing his grief. He called the attacks a “horrific and senseless tragedy.” In a subsequent message, Fenves described Brown as a talented musician who had not yet declared a major.
Upon his apprehension, White, also a UT student, complied with police orders to get on the ground. The purported assailant possessed a Bowie-style knife which he told police he often carried for safety on campus. White said he did not remember stabbing anyone.
UT-Austin Police Chief David Carter said White “obviously” suffered from some kind of mental health troubles. He noted that, previously, White was committed involuntarily in another city over mental health issues but did not elaborate on any details. Carter stated the tragic attacks were “not a conspiracy,” saying White was not a person who had a vendetta against any particular group.
Nine days later, the suspect’s parents, Kenneth and Shantina White, both in the military and grieving over the horrific tragedy for all parties involved, shared some insights with several area news outlets. They attributed a drunken driving accident in April to a change in their son’s behavior. They said White “never acted the same afterward” and experienced his first-ever seizure, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The Whites said they took him to the emergency room in their hometown of Killeen which led to their son’s involuntary stay in a psychiatric facility. Doctors ran multiple tests, including brain scans, although results came back as inconclusive.
White appeared in court for the first time on May 17. Prosecutors pushed for him to undergo a state-ordered sanity evaluation to determine if he knew right from wrong at the time of the attacks. Several weeks later, on June 9, presiding District Court Judge Tamara Needles ruled against this but added that her decision was not final and suggested prosecutors refile such a motion. Needles then revealed two unidentified experts examined White. Based on their findings, the judge determined the suspect was competent to stand trial.
Since May 1, White has remained in the Travis County Jail on $1 million bail. He next appears in court on Friday.
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