Stabbing incident at MVCC
The following is a joint press release between Mohawk Valley Community College and the Utica Police Department
On Dec. 13, 2019, Utica Police units and Mohawk Valley Community College Campus Safety units responded to a fight at MVCC regarding two groups of males. Most of these parties have been determined to be campus students.
During the course of the fight, one male, Abdi H. Osman, 21, of Utica, allegedly brandished a knife and attempted to stab members of the other group. While attempting to do this, he suffered a laceration to his hand and stabbed a member of his own group, causing that individual to be transported to St. Elizabeth’ s Hospital for emergency treatment.
While on scene, Osman was quickly taken into custody, and taken to the hospital for treatment of his wound. After discharge, he was charged by the Utica Police Criminal Investigations Division with second-degree assault (felony) and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon (misdemeanor).
We would like to thank MVCC Campus Security and their officers as well as the MVCC Administration staff for all their help during this investigation.
“We are committed to providing a safe and secure environment on our campuses and are proud of how our students, faculty and staff followed shelter-in-place procedures and handled themselves during the situation,” said MVCC President Randall J. VanWagoner. “We are also thankful to the Utica Police Department and MVCC Public Safety for their actions and exceptional service to the Mohawk Valley community. Their partnership allowed us to handle this incident quickly and efficiently.”
Both departments will have increased police presence on campus for the foreseeable future to deter any potential future acts of violence.
Vehicular assault at MVCC
Dec. 14, 2019, at approximately 11 a.m., Utica Police units were dispatched to the Mohawk Valley Community Campus regarding a report a female struck by a vehicle.
Upon arrival it was learned that a female had just finished walking her dog on the MVCC campus when she noticed her ex-husband driving his vehicle at a high rate of speed toward her. The male then struck her with the vehicle, causing her to be pinned between her vehicle and his.
The male then exited his vehicle, approached her and began to make threatening statements and ultimately left the scene. Following that, she contacted 911.
The victim was then transported to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and later transferred to another higher-level trauma center with serious lower body injuries. She is currently stable, but her injuries were quite severe.
We are asking the public’s help in locating the suspect, Leslie Paulson, 55, of Frankfort; he was last known to be operating a gold Toyota Avalon, license plate GTG4776.
It should be noted that while this occurred on the MVCC campus, it is wholly separate and distinct from yesterday’s incident, and none of the involved parties had any affiliation with the college.
Fatal motor vehicle-pedestrian collision
At about 5 p.m. Dec. 14, Utica Police units were dispatched near the intersection of Lansing and Mohawk streets regarding a motor vehicle accident between a vehicle and a pedestrian; the pedestrian, later identified as 20-year-old Dinasia Murray, was pronounced deceased a short time later.
The Utica Police Accident Reconstruction Team conducted a full reconstruction and evaluation of the scene. Mohawk Street between Rutger Street and Lansing Street was blocked.
The investigation is in very early stages and will remain ongoing.
The investigation is being undertaken by members of the Utica Police Department’s Accident Reconstruction Team and members of The Criminal Investigations Division. It is still in its early stages and, once complete, a full review will take place with respect to any charges or other investigative determinations.
Additional information will be released as needed.
Police ask anyone with information to contact the Utica Police Department Major Crimes Unit at 315.360.6976 or the Utica Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at 315.223.3510.