Syracuse, NY

A stabbing incident marred the annual Orange Madness Friday, prompting school officials to end Syracuse University basketball team's open practice at Carrier Dome half-hour early.

According to Sgt. Tom Connellan, a 25-year-old man was stabbed in the concourse area of the Dome, near the concession stands. The victim was taken to Upstate University Hospital and now in stable condition.

Connellan added the victim has not cooperated with police and no suspects are in custody. He added that the stabbing victim or anyone involved in numerous scuffles at the event were Syracuse University students or related to the University.

"The free, general-admission event brought a lot of young people to the Dome," Connellan said.

"We were saddened to learn of the incident at the Dome last night. There is no place and no tolerance for anything like this and future Orange Madness events will be designed to prevent incidents such as this," Syracuse University chancellor Nancy Cantor said.

"We are proud of the terrific partnership among Syracuse City Police, SU Department of Public Safety and Carrier Dome security staff, and we are confident that their work will continue to maintain a safe and secure environment for our patrons who come to the Dome to enjoy the hard work and efforts of our student-athletes," athletic director Daryl Gross added.

Despite the incident, Connellan stressed that the Dome is safe, saying the stabbing incident was an isolated case.

"The police and the university would work together to find out if there were any problems with security and correct them," he added.

Meanwhile, the Syracuse University's Department of Public Safety said it will review the ticketing, seating and overall plan for future Orange Madness events to avoid such incidents from happening again.

A stabbing incident marred the annual Orange Madness Friday, prompting school officials to end Syracuse University basketball team's open practice at Carrier Dome half-hour early.

According to Sgt. Tom Connellan, a 25-year-old man was stabbed in the concourse area of the Dome, near the concession stands. The victim was taken to Upstate University Hospital and now in stable condition.

Connellan added the victim has not cooperated with police and no suspects are in custody. He added that the stabbing victim or anyone involved in numerous scuffles at the event were Syracuse University students or related to the University.

"The free, general-admission event brought a lot of young people to the Dome," Connellan said.

"We were saddened to learn of the incident at the Dome last night. There is no place and no tolerance for anything like this and future Orange Madness events will be designed to prevent incidents such as this," Syracuse University chancellor Nancy Cantor said.

"We are proud of the terrific partnership among Syracuse City Police, SU Department of Public Safety and Carrier Dome security staff, and we are confident that their work will continue to maintain a safe and secure environment for our patrons who come to the Dome to enjoy the hard work and efforts of our student-athletes," athletic director Daryl Gross added.

Despite the incident, Connellan stressed that the Dome is safe, saying the stabbing incident was an isolated case.

"The police and the university would work together to find out if there were any problems with security and correct them," he added.

Meanwhile, the Syracuse University's Department of Public Safety said it will review the ticketing, seating and overall plan for future Orange Madness events to avoid such incidents from happening again.

 

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