A St. John’s student is facing assault charges for allegedly stabbing his roommate at a Fresh Meadows frat house on Tuesday morning, according to authorities.
Police said 23-year-old Justin Corpolongo was involved in a dispute with his roommate, 21-year-old Matthew Stockfeder, at a home on 172nd Street at 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 22. The dispute turned physical, with the two throwing several punches at each other, but it escalated when Stockfeder allegedly stabbed Corpolongo in the stomach with a knife, cops said.
“The University is aware of an incident involving a student and an alum that occurred at an off-campus location, not owned by the University, and is fully cooperating with the investigation by law enforcement officials.” said Brian Browne, a St. John’s University spokesperson.
According to the criminal complaint, Corpolongo had Stockfeder on the ground and was holding him by his head when Stockfeder, plunged the knife into Corpolongo’s stomach. Corpolongo suffered a 4- to 5-inch deep cut in his stomach, which severed his small intestines. Surgery was required to fix Corpolongo’s injuries.
Police confirmed that he is expected to survive.
The NYPD said that Corpolongo is a former student at St. John’s University and Stockfeder is a current student and lacrosse team captain for the school. Reports say that the pair, who live together in an off-campus apartment, had gotten into a dispute earlier in the evening over Stockfeder waking up Corpolongo with loud music.
Stockfeder then reportedly went to a party at a frat house, but allegedly continued to text Corpolongo, who later came out to the house and squared off with Corpolongo.
Police could not confirm the motive behind the attack.
Students at St. John’s University were shocked to find out about the altercation between the two men.
“I was shocked by what happened,” said Santiago Mayorga Beltran, a sophomore business major. “The lacrosse captain is supposed to embody some of the values here from all of the student body, like the captains for the teams to really try to live by these values and value more their future.”
Other students felt that the school should have been more forthcoming about the assault and keep the situation more of a private matter.
“I think that every student should be informed of what happened and the major details regarding the incident be put out to students if the family of the victim is willing to release the information,” said Timothy Wise, a sophomore computer science major. “They are people too, they might not want everyone coming to them.”
“I think they should not have let the situation get as public as it did,” said Jason Nikolatis, a sophomore Homeland Security major. “It was a college kid who made a mistake. But then again, he was being stupid and could’ve killed somebody and St. John’s, I feel like left out a lot of important details”
Samantha Wanderer contributed to this report.
