Police are investigating the murder of a student who was killed in a residence hall at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Authorities found the body of the student on the morning of Wednesday, 5 October 2022.
Purdue student arrested and charged with murder: Here’s what we know
According to NBC News, the police identified the suspect as the victim’s roommate, who has since been arrested. The suspect is Ji Min Sha, an international student from South Korea. The 22-year-old is a junior cybersecurity major.
The 22-year- old called the police in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The Tippecanoe County coroner’s office identified the victim as Varun Manish Chheda. Chheda was a 20-year-old student, who was majoring in data science.
As per a preliminary autopsy report, Chheda died of “multiple sharp force traumatic injuries.”
No information regarding a motive or what Sha stated during the 911 call has been made public. Consequently, Sha was arrested on a murder charge on Wednesday afternoon and held in the Tippecanoe County Jail. However, authorities have not granted Sha bail. Police are investigating the incident as a homicide.
The murder of Varun took place at the McCutcheon Hall, which is on the west side of the campus, in the boys’ room.
Purdue University President Mitch Daniels has since released a statement on the University’s website. He said that Chheda’s death impacts “deeply” impacts the community.
“This is as tragic an event as we can imagine happening on our campus and our hearts and thoughts go out to all of those affected by this terrible event.”
Furthermore, Daniels went on to assure the school’s public, parents and students of its safety.
“As Purdue’s president, but even more so as a parent myself, I assure you that the safety and security of our students is the single highest priority on our campus.”
In addition, he said:
“Purdue is an extraordinarily safe place on any given day, and compared with cities of Purdue’s population (approximately 60,000 in all), we experience a tiny fraction of violent and property crime that occurs elsewhere.”
The president ended his statement off by saying that he was “grateful to everyone who take the time to take care of each other.”
Though, this has been the first homicide on the Purdue campus since January 2014.
The public reacts to Chheda’s murder
The public has taken to social media to share their reactions upon hearing the news of the death of Chheda. Here’s what they had to say:
A University of Arizona professor murdered by a former student. A Purdue University student killed by his roommate. More needs to be done to address the mental health crisis on college campuses.
— Shine Bright 🌞🌟🌜 (@xmillrunner) October 6, 2022
Purdue University President says the University experiences a small amount of crime. I’d say a murder in a dorm room says they have huge problems there.
— Lib No ! Liberatarian (@hendrick_rob) October 5, 2022
Purdue university Indian child was stabbed by his room mate . Sad news . Om shanti. Such a terrible news .
— 🔆Rohit🔆 (@rohithverse) October 6, 2022
@godbole_shilpa
— Arun (@InnerTrip) October 6, 2022
Did you hear of this horrendous incident ?
Varun Manish Chheda, a 20-year-old Indian-American student at US’s Purdue University, was killed in his dorm room by his roommate. What’s happening in USA ?
This is a developing story.