Police in New York arrested a 13-year-old boy in connection with the murder of a college student in a Manhattan park, according to local media, which raised tension in a city where crime rates have declined in recent years.
The New York City Police Department said that Tessa Majoris, 18, received several stab wounds with a knife, on Wednesday evening, when she was stolen while crossing the Harlem's Morning Side Park near her college, Barnard College.
Police said three people were involved in the crime. Although the victim was injured, Majoris managed to pull a reeling out of the park and called for a guard booth at a nearby school, but she breathed her last in a hospital.
Morningside Park has long been known to be unsafe and has witnessed several crimes, including murders.
New York Police Chief Inspector Rodney Harrison told Twitter on Friday evening that "a person has been arrested and an investigation is under way," without giving any additional information on the identity of the arrested person.
CBS2 television, citing unnamed police officials, said that on Thursday, police found the boy while combing the lobby of a nearby building, and the station said his clothes matched with the suspect's descriptions.
The station, and other local news channels, added that this boy had confessed to the police that he and two friends had tried to steal and stab Magores.
A police spokeswoman said she could not comment on any arrests in this case.
New York crime rates have steadily declined, but city officials have admitted that there has been an increase in homicides in the final months of the year.