(Sept. 22, 2008)—A St. Mary's County resident, William L. Smith, 19, of Scotland, Md. was fatally stabbed in Worcester, Mass. early Sunday morning. Smith was a sports management major at Worcester-based Becker College. Smith transferred to Becker this fall from a college in West Virginia. He attended Great Mills High School.
Smith was pronounced dead at 2:45 a.m. at UMass Memorial Medical Center – University Campus, according to the Worcester Police Department.
According to a press release issued on Sunday by the college, several Becker students, living in an apartment off-campus, hosted a party Saturday evening. When the hosts asked some uninvited guests to leave, a fight ensued, and continued outside of the apartment building on North Ashland Street. Two Becker students were injured, one fatally.
The Worcester Police Department is investigating the incident. There have been no arrests yet.
“We have been in touch with the Smith family to offer any assistance the Becker community can lend during this terrible time,” said Kenneth S. Cameron, vice president of student affairs. “Counseling staff are scheduled to visit William’s classes on Monday and Tuesday of this week, as well as his residence hall. Counseling is also being made available to anyone having difficulty coping with this tragedy.”
Cameron added, “In the past, the College has experienced the tragic and untimely deaths of students as the result of accidents or illness. This is the first time the College has been faced with a fatality as the result of violence.”