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Massachusetts man threatens Wesleyan students with a knife

MIDDLETOWN – A man was arrested after threatening students at Wesleyan University with a knife, Saturday Oct. 25. Three students went to the campus’...
Wesleyan

MIDDLETOWN – A man was arrested after threatening students at Wesleyan University with a knife, Saturday Oct. 25.

Three students went to the campus’s public safety department after being approached and threatened with a knife by a man, who was later identified as Abdullahi Abdullahi, 19, of Waltham, Massachusetts.

One of the students, who was not identified by name or gender, provided an account of events to public safety officers. He said that he was getting food at a food truck on Pine Street and Church Street when a black man with short hair and a red puffy jacket who was in line became belligerent to the food truck’s employees.

A third party tried to calm the man down by leading him away from the line, but the victim says he believes the suspect “felt dishonored” as he walked away, and he turned around and returned to the food truck. The suspect then approached the victim and his friend. The victim held up his hand and asked the man to go away, but he got angry and claimed he had two weapons.

The victim further stated the man began walking back and forth with a knife in hand and said he was “going to put holes in both of our stomachs.”

The students reported the incident to a public safety officer who was walking by the scene. All three victims provided the same account to officers, and several other people who were present during the altercation approached the public safety officers to tell them they had seen the suspect with a knife in his hand.

The officers who responded approached Abdullahi and asked if he had a knife. Abudllahi said he did and gave them a black Smith and Wesson folding knife that had a four-inch blade. The officers asked Abdullahi to turn around for a pat down, but he questioned the order and wouldn’t obey. The officers then put him in handcuffs. No other weapons were found on his body.

The Middletown Police Department responded to the scene after public safety officers reported the incident, and Abdullahi was subsequently arrested. He was charged with threatening in the second degree and breach of peace and initially held on $50,000 bond. Abdullahi was already on probation for a previous offense, and when he was arraigned Monday his probation was continued for one case, and the second was not prosecuted. It was unclear what else he was in court for and which case was dropped.

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