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1 student dead, 2nd wounded after University of Arizona fight
04:37 PM MST on Wednesday, September 5, 2007
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- A female University of Arizona student died following a fight with her roommate in a dormitory Wednesday and the roommate was hospitalized with unspecified injuries, authorities said.
University Police Chief Anthony Daykin would not provide details of the incident at a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.
"I suspect you've been told a lot of things by a lot of people," Daykin said. "You are not going to be told that by me."
He said the dead woman, 18-year-old Mia Henderson of the Navajo Nation town of Tuba City, had filed a police report Aug. 28 saying that she had been the victim of a property theft and that she suspected her roommate.
Daykin said the roommate was an "investigative lead" and had been named as a possible suspect in a theft report filed by another student in the Graham-Greenlee residence hall at the university.
Daykin said Henderson had told officers she would not stay in the dorm room until her roommate was moved. The university offered her alternative housing but she declined, and Daykin said he doesn't know when she went back to the room.
Lee Ann Dejolie, a Northern Arizona University student who described herself as a close friend of Henderson, said she spoke to Henderson this week and that the subject of her roommate came up.
"She said her roommate was going through her purse and taking stuff out of her purse. So Mia was really ticked off," Dejolie said.
She said she reacted to her friend's death with disbelief. "I was shocked because I didn't think this would actually happen to Mia," Dejolie said. "She's not the type of person that would get in a conflict."
Some postings on Henderson's MySpace page also mention problems with a roommate, though they don't use the roommate's name.
The surviving woman's condition wasn't known and Daykin did not release her name. No other people were involved in the incident.
Campus police were called to the Graham-Greenlee residence hall at 5:45 a.m. because of a fight involving injuries, Sgt. Eugene Mejia said.
He said officers found Henderson and her 18-year-old roommate and both women were taken to University Medical Center. The survivor's injuries were described as not life-threatening.
Tucson police homicide investigators were assisting the investigation.
"You never really think something like that can happen, especially to someone you know or live near," said Holly Polk, a student from Elkhorn, Wis., who lives in the dormitory where the fight occurred. "You wonder what could provoke them to be so aggressive toward another girl because you never think that girls are going to act so violently."
The university did not institute a lockdown after the incident, but President Robert Shelton sent out a notification electronically.
Shelton later issued a statement calling the death of Henderson "a terrible tragedy that saddens everyone in The University of Arizona family."
"At no time today was there a threat to anyone else on campus," the statement said. "Our police were on the scene within two minutes of the 911 call, provided medical treatment and secured the area.
"Today's event is a reminder that violence can strike anywhere in our society," the statement also said. "We all hope that university campuses would be immune to these terrible acts. Sadly, they are not, and today we mourn a senseless death."
Krystal Jones, a student from Buffalo, Wyo., said he heard about the death through her e-mail.
"It's definitely concerning but I don't feel less safe on campus because of this," Jones said. "When you choose a university of this size, it comes with the territory. I don't think they could do anything else for it."
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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