LI Man Faces Charges In Binghamton University Stabbing Death

Updated at 6:20 p.m. Tuesday: A Long Island man suspected of stabbing a 19-year-old Binghamton University student to death on Sunday night has been arrested, school officials said Monday evening. This homicide comes six weeks after Westbury resident and Binghamton nursing student Haley Anderson was killed on campus.

Michael M. Roque was charged with second-degree murder in connection to the stabbing death of Joao Souza, an engineering student from Rye Brook, on Sunday night,

Roque is a Massapequa resident and a graduate of Syosset High School, press connects reports. A public defender assigned to him entered a not guilty plea on his behalf at the Broome County Central Arraignment facility. Roque was taken to the Broome County Jail following the arraignment.

Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger released a statement on the incident and ensured the community that campus safety was the university's main priority. "I am deeply saddened to write to you regarding last night’s stabbing that led to the death of one of our students, Joao Souza, a 19-year-old freshman engineering student," he said in the statement. "The entire campus mourns for him. Our sympathies go out to his friends and family, as well as to his classmates and peers."

This is the second homicide to occur at the university in six weeks. In early March, 22-year-old Anderson was found dead and the suspected person responsible for her death, 22-year-old Orlando Tercero, fled to Nicaragua prior to the discovery of her body. Tercero was taken into custody on March 13 in Nicaragua and faces second-degree murder charges in connection to Anderson's death.

"This has been a very difficult semester for me and the entire campus with two student deaths in just a few weeks," Stenger said. "These tragedies shake us to the core and we grieve together."

Images via Binghamton University