College student dies after being stabbed in head at Planet Fitness, Indiana cops say
A graduate student who was a month away from graduating died after he was stabbed at Planet Fitness, Indiana officials say.
The stabbing happened at 9 a.m. Oct. 29 at a Planet Fitness in Valparaiso, where Varun Raj Pucha was completing his graduate degree at Valparaiso University, according to police and city officials.
The 29-year-old student was in a massage chair at the fitness center when 24-year-old Jordan Andrade “came into the room and plunged a knife through Pucha’s right temple and into his brain stem,” the Northwest Indiana Times reported, citing police.
Andrade told police Pucha had been acting “a little weird,” but Planet Fitness workers described the graduate student as “quiet and reserved,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
Pucha was taken to a hospital and was “battling for his life in a coma” after undergoing surgery, a GoFundMe said. The stabbing left him paralyzed on the left side of his body, his cousin told the Northwest Indiana Times.
Valparaiso city officials said in a Wednesday, Nov. 8, news release Pucha had died.
“Our hearts go out to Varun’s family and friends in this heartbreaking loss,” Valparaiso Mayor Matt Murphy said. “The Valparaiso community has been shocked by this senseless tragedy and is united in support for this young man and his family.”
Pucha, of Hyderabad, India, was studying information technology at the university, which is about 50 miles southeast of Chicago.
His cousin, Anile Balleboyne, told WLS that Pucha came to Indiana about a year and a half ago for school.
“It’s very difficult, because no one would expect this kind of situation for their kids,” Balleboyne said. “He has many dreams. He came with many dreams, to financially and emotionally support his family.”
The university is hosting a remembrance and memorial for Pucha on Thursday, Nov. 16. Campus officials previously called the attack “shocking and tragic.”
“His parents in India are completely shattered,” Kalyani Gopal, who organized a prayer vigil, told the Chicago Tribune. “They are unable to communicate because they are in deep, deep shock.”
Andrade was initially charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Charges were upgraded to murder, city officials said Wednesday.
He remains at the Porter County Jail.
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