The Mississippi State University Police Department is seeking a university employee in connection with a stabbing on the MSU campus late Friday afternoon.
An arrest warrant was issued for Jessie Michael McGee, Jr. The MSU Police Department is looking for a 2009 maroon-colored Mercury SUV that McGee is believed to be driving.
The male victim of the stabbing, which occurred around 5 p.m. Friday, is currently in stable condition at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo, according to MSU spokesman Sid Salter.
A release issued by MSU Friday evening said both the victim and suspect were custodial employees at the Colvard Student Union, where the attack occurred. Following the stabbing, the student union was closed. It reopened at 7 a.m. Saturday.
“We believe at this point that it was some sort of workplace dispute,” Salter said Friday. “The investigation into this is ongoing and we still don’t have all of the facts, but that’s what we believe at this point.”
He added the victim was communicating when police arrived at the student union.
MSU Maroon Alert’s Twitter account issued an alert shortly after 5 p.m. Friday saying that the stabbing had occurred and that police had increased patrols around campus. The university release issued later said the stabbing was an isolated incident.
“I appreciate the professional manner in which this unfortunate incident was handled by our MSU Police and the Division of Student Affairs,” MSU President Mark E. Keenum said in the statement. “Workplace violence is not something we’ve often encountered on this campus, but it’s a daily reality in the private sector and in public institutions and that’s why we anticipate such incidents and train our faculty, staff and students to effectively cope with matters like this if they arise.”
Starkville Police Department and Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office are assisting MSUPD with the search for McGee.
Dispatch News Editor Isabelle Altman and Reporter Slim Smith contributed to this report.
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