NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Columbia University remembered one of its own Friday after police said he was killed in one of two random overnight attacks in Upper Manhattan.
Just before 11 p.m., the first victim, a 30-year-old Columbia University graduate student, was randomly stabbed in the stomach inside Morningside Park at 123rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue, officials said.
The victim was rushed to an area hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
The victim, Davide Giri, was a PhD candidate in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and a former teaching assistant trained in classical piano. He was also a competitive soccer player, according to his personal website.
"This news is both unspeakably sad and deeply shocking, as it took place only steps from our campus," Columbia president Lee Bollinger wrote in a campuswide email Friday. "On behalf of the entire Columbia community, I send my deepest condolences to Davide's family."
Giri, an Italian citizen, previously studied at universities in Turin, Italy, and Chicago. He was on track to graduate in May.
Columbia University held a vigil Friday evening on Butler Lawn to honor Giri, where dozens of students and faculty held candles and closed their eyes to pray for the victim.
Bollinger remembered Giri as "a brilliant doctoral student in an exciting field on his way to an incredible career with extraordinary contributions to the world and a fulfilling life."
"We so deeply feel the pain and the injustice of that life promise breached in an act of barbarous violence," Bollinger said.
Giri wasn't just a brilliant student, but also a brilliant person, said Shih-Fu Chang, dean of Columbia's engineering school.
"Ready to help anyone in his group or any student who needed support," Chang said.
About 15 minutes after Giri was attacked, a 27-year-old Italian tourist was stabbed in the torso at 110 Street and Morningside Drive, according to police.
The victim was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside, in stable condition, and is expected to survive.
Just minutes later, a 30-year-old man flagged down police and said he was menaced inside Central Park, according to authorities.
Responding officers canvassed the area and came across a 25-year-old man fitting the description in the vicinity of West 104th Street and Central Park West, police said.
The knife-wielding suspect was taken into custody and officials recovered a large kitchen knife, officials said.
The suspect is a known gang member and parolee who served five years in prison for a gang assault in 2013, police said. Charges are pending.
Authorities are looking into what motivated the attacks and an investigation is ongoing.
None of the victims knew each other or the suspect, police said. The attacks appear to have been random.
Giri was killed not far from where Barnard undergrad Tessa Majors was stabbed to death in Morningside Park.
There will be an extra NYPD and Columbia security presence inside the park and surrounding area after dark.