Authorities are looking to identify key members of a group of Onondaga College students who were involved in what became a deadly argument with a group of SUNY Morrisville students on a bus arriving in New York City Friday.
Denzel Bimpey, of the Bronx, was part of the SUNY Morrisville group, coming home for the holidays. They were on a bus from Syracuse to New York City with the Onondaga students. A dispute, one that involved gang-related language, according to officials, broke out at the onset of their journey. Bimpey's group denied being gang-affiliated.
The bus went on its way.
They arrived in New York City around 10:40 p.m. Friday and a fight broke out between the two groups of students as they were getting their luggage from the bus. Police say Bimpey tried to stop an attacker with a bear hug and ended up stabbed three times. A knife or box cutter-type instrument was recovered at the scene.
Bimpey ran down the block, but collapsed on the sidewalk on Park Avenue South. He suffered a deep puncture wound to his mid-chest and one to his shoulder, and was slashed in the forearm as well, police say. Bimpey was pronounced dead at a hospital less than an hour after getting off the bus. The attacking group fled in a black SUV, officials say.
Authorities say the preliminary investigation suggests gang involvement, possibly a misunderstanding that the victims were associated with a rival gang. Bimpey's group is from the Bronx; the other group is from Harlem. Police say there's an ongoing feud between two gangs in Harlem. They believe Bimpey's death may be a case of mistaken identity.
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A representative for SUNY Morrisville said Bimpey was a first-year business student at the school.
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"Our entire college community is devastated at the loss of one of our students and we are especially heartbroken by the tragic circumstances surrounding Denzel’s passing," said Theresa Kevorkian, vice president for Institutional Advancement and executive director, Morrisville College Foundation. "Our University Police are assisting the New York Police Department in their ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information on the attack is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
