Four injured, student arrested after random stabbings at Louisiana Tech University

Four people were injured and a student was arrested Monday in an apparently random stabbing incident at Louisiana Tech University.

One of the victims was a graduate student, while the other three victims were not students, the school said in a statement.

The incident occurred around 9 a.m. at a sports and wellness facility at the campus in Ruston, about 70 miles east of Shreveport.

The suspect attacked the victims as they left the building before fleeing the scene. He was apprehended without incident by campus police about 10 minutes after the attacks.

Louisiana Tech Police Chief Randal Hermes said the suspect was caught behind a baseball field, according to the Ruston Daily Reader.

He was later identified as student Jacoby Johnson, 23, of Rayville.

Officials said the attacks appeared to be “a random act of violence.”

“It sounds like he ran up behind them and surprised them,” Hermes said.

Of the four victims, “two were transported to a local hospital, one was airlifted to Shreveport, and the other refused treatment,” the school stated.

“As of 11:40 a.m., one victim is in critical condition at NLMC, and the two other victims are in serious but stable condition. The victim airlifted is a graduate student. The other three victims are non-students,” it added.

Johnson was also hospitalized following the incident, according to Louisiana Tech.

He has not been officially charged, the Ruston Daily Leader reported.

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