A 19-year-old USC student was in custody Tuesday for allegedly fatally stabbing a man he apparently witnessed breaking into cars near the university’s Greek Row.
Ivan Gallegos was booked on suspicion of murder and was being held in lieu of $2 million bail, according to the Los Angeles Police Department and jail records.
Xavier Cerf, 27, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to LAPD Officer Tony Im and the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner.
The stabbing was reported around 8:15 p.m. Monday on the 700 block of West 28th Street, east of University Avenue.
LAPD Interim Chief Dominic Choi told the Police Commission Tuesday morning that the student confronted the man who was breaking into vehicles. That man allegedly told the student he had a gun, resulting in the student stabbing him, Choi said.
The victim of the stabbing tried to flee through an alley, where responding officers eventually found him suffering from multiple stab wounds, according to Choi.
Witnesses described seeing a pool of blood near a fraternity house.
