A former Syracuse football player is accused of stabbing two present members of the football team Saturday afternoon in Syracuse.
Defensive backs Chauncey Scissum and Corey Winfield, both 21, were identified by Syracuse.com as the players who were stabbed. Winfield is in stable condition, an Upstate University Hospital spokesperson told the website; the spokesperson could not confirm Scissum’s condition.
Police told the website that the men had been stabbed multiple times but that their injuries were not considered life-threatening. It presently is unclear what led up to the stabbings.
Naesean Howard, a defensive back who last was on the team in 2014, has been charged with two counts of second-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. He has been indefinitely suspended by the university.
“We are aware of this incident and our focus right now is on supporting our two students as they recover,” Kevin Quinn, Syracuse’s senior vice president of public affairs, said in a statement (via Syracuse.com). “The accused individual, who knew the victims, has been suspended from the university indefinitely. We do not tolerate any act of violence and the safety of our campus and community is a top priority.”
Howard, 20, is being held in the Onondaga County Justice Center.
Scissum is a redshirt junior safety from Rochester, N.Y., and Winfield is a redshirt junior cornerback from St. Louis. Scissum had 43 tackles and one pass deflection last season; Winfield had 30 tackles, two interceptions and two sacks.
