Brooklyn Native Stabbed To Death At Cornell Brawl

Anthony Nazaire, 19, is remembered by those who knew him as an ambitious, business-minded, gentleman. He was stabbed to death early Sunday morning when several fights broke out at an orientation party hosted by the Cornell chapter of Omega Psi Phi, at Cornell University.

Nazaire attended the nearby school, Ithaca College, where he majored in business and pursued his dreams of being an entrepreneur. He was stabbed several times at around 2am, as the center of the Cornell campus broke out into violence, police said.

He had just returned to school after spending the summer with him family on Newkirk Avenue in Flatbush, and working in Coney Island, according to the Cornell Sun.

“Less than one week he was here with us, today he’s gone,” the teen’s godfather, Jacques Dorsainvil, told the Daily News.

Another student was stabbed, but their identity was not released. No arrests have been made yet, and no details on the murder weapon have been disclosed.

Many pointed out that Nazaire was more likely to try to break the fight up than take part in the violence in the conversations in the news, and around the school’s community, regarding the incident.

As reported by the Daily News:

“What saddens me the most is he didn’t die here in Flatbush, but died away at school,” Nazaire’s cousin Chanelle Nazaire wrote in a series of Facebook posts Sunday. “I just wanted to go your graduation, I’m going to your funeral instead.”

Dorsainvil, 61, broke down in tears as he talked about the tragedy.

“God gave him gifts. He would hold me and tell me how good he was going to be,” Dorsainvil told the Daily News. “He was an intelligent man, polite with everyone. I don’t get it, why this happened to us. Everybody knows he’s a gift from God.”

Nazaire’s ambitions started in the Brooklyn Theatre Arts High School in Canarsie, where his excellent performance scored him a scholarship that allowed him to go to Ithaca College to study business.

At Ithaca, Nazaire was on the executive board of the student organization, Brothers4Brothers, which is geared towards improving the lives of men of color on campus.

“I hope you will hold these students — along with their families, friends, classmates and professors — in your thoughts and prayers at this difficult and tragic time,” Ithaca College President Tom Rochon said in a statement.

Ithaca College has planned a vigil for Nazaire tonight at 4pm at Ithaca’s Muller Chapel.

The Ithaca Police Department is investigating the incident, they said in a statement on Sunday.

“The Ithaca Police Department is leading a team of several local law enforcement agencies who are engaged in the investigation,” the department said.