UConn student killed outside Union

In the first homicide on campus in recent memory, UConn football player Jasper T. Howard, 20, of Miami, was fatally stabbed outside the Student Union on Sunday at approximately 12:33 a.m., according to UConn Police Spokesman Major Ronald Blicher.

Howard was a 5th-semester exploratory major and a starting cornerback who had just celebrated UConn's 38-25 Homecoming win over Louisville on Saturday. He was also an expectant father.

Howard was one of two people that were stabbed outside the Union on Sunday. Both stabbings occurred between Gampel Pavilion and Glenbrook Road, Blicher said. Due to the close proximity of the stabbings, the incidents are being treated as one case rather than two.

Police have identified the second victim as a UConn student, but Blicher did not say whether or not this victim was another student athlete.

Howard and the other victim were taken to Windham Community Memorial Hospital by ambulance. The other victim was treated and released from Windham Hospital, while Howard was LifeStar airlifted to St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, where he later died.

Though the motives for the stabbings are still unclear, it is known there was a fight between two groups of people, some who were armed with knives, Blicher said. The number of people fighting has not yet been determined.

A fire alarm at the Union was pulled at 12:26 a.m., which led to the evacuation of more than 300 students to the Hillside Road/Fairfield Way area outside the building, Blicher said. The motive and person responsible for pulling the alarm are still being investigated, but there appears to be no emergency reason for it to have been pulled.

The West Indian Student Awareness Organization (WISAO) held a dance in the Student Union Ballroom that night, which brought many non-students to campus. The fight was thought to involve UConn students and non-UConn students, Blicher said.

The dance was being chaperoned by two UConn police officers. These officers went outside when the alarm was pulled and were monitoring the crowd, Blicher said. Students notified one of these officers of the first stabbing after it had occurred, but as the officer arrived at the scene, the other stabbing occurred nearby.

Although police do not know if the person responsible for the death of Howard is on campus or not, students shouldn't fear for their safety, Blicher said.

"I don't think anybody needs to fear that there is a random attacker out there," Blicher said. "[The stabbing] was contemporaneous to the altercation." Blicher added that police do not think at this time that the altercation was premeditated.

The State Police Major Crime Unit and UConn police are still involved in an "ongoing and very active" investigation in the matter, Blicher said.

"This will be a difficult case to investigate, as all major cases such as this are, we are hopeful of a successful conclusion to the case [the apprehension of the offender]," Blicher said.

A press conference was held at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday with Blicher, head coach Randy Edsall, President Michael J. Hogan and Athletic Director Jeffrey Hathaway discussing the details of the incident.

Edsall gave an emotional discussion of "Jazz" and his football career and personality. He held back tears throughout the conference.

After mistakenly going to Hartford Hospital, Edsall arrived at St. Francis at around 1:40 a.m. to get information on Howard's condition and console players and friends who were in the waiting room there.

Edsall made the call to Howard's mother and was charged with the grim responsibility of identifying the body in the operating room at around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday. He has kept in constant contact with the Howard family and Howard's girlfriend in Miami since his death.

Edsall held a team meeting at about 6:15 a.m. to address the team and to "tell them that we had lost a brother, a teammate, a great person, a mentor, and just somebody that you loved to be around," he said.

"I told [the team] that what we have to do as a family, as a team […] and remember Jazz for who he was, and what he would want us to do in this situation," Edsall said. "What Jazz would want these young men to do is to take their moment for grieving, but also then, move forward and go on, and get ready to go play another game."

The team plans to wear the No. 6 in honor of Howard for the remainder of the season.

The game ball was given to Howard's girlfriend for their unborn child, who, Edsall said, will always be a part of the UConn-football family.

"There's nothing written in the manual on how to deal with these situations," Edsall said.

Desi Cullen spoke on behalf of the team, fighting to hold back his emotions. He broke down when discussing Howard's family.

"The idea that he will grow up without his father tears me apart," Cullen said.

He added that Howard would live on through his child and with the UConn football team.

Because of how quickly the stabbings took place in the crowded, dark area around the Union, police need help identifying suspects. If anyone has any information on this incident, no matter how seemingly insignificant, police are urging witnesses to call (860) 486-4800.