Stabbing at Bowie State University! Suspect a woman, how ironic?

I really wanted to share this story because I really was affected by it, even though I have no relation to anyone involved.

There was a fatal stabbing at Bowie State University in Bowie, MD this past Thursday. According to news reports, on Thursday evening, September 15, 2011 at 8:00pm, Police in Prince George’s County, MD received a call in regard to a stabbing that happened on the campus of Bowie State University. The two women involved were Dominique Frazier and Alexis Simpson. They were roommates in one of the suites within Christa McAuliffe Residential Center where the incident occurred.

Top: Dominique Frazier, bottom: Alexis Simpson

According to the police report, the two women had been in conflict during the weeks leading up to the stabbing.

Charging Documents: http://wusa9.com/news/pdf/alexis_simpson_charges.pdf

The altercation began when the ladies were getting ready for a comedy show held on their campus as a part of their homecoming celebration. Dominique Frazier, 18, was playing music in the common area of the suite when Alexis Simpson, 19, turned it off. After refusing to turn it back on, Frazier began to argue with Simpson, and this turned into a fight. Other roommates in the suite were able to push Simpson into her room, but once she got out, she had what appeared to be a knife in her hand and began swinging it at Frazier. Frazier grabbed for her neck, where she was stabbed, walked in the hallway of their dormitory and collapsed. She was pronounce dead at the hospital around 9pm. Simpson, according to the police report stated to witnesses, “I didn’t mean to do it, you all don’t know what I’ve been thru, you all jumped me.” She fled from the scene but turned herself in around 12am. Simpson is now being held without bond, charged with First-degree murder, second-degree murder, and first-degree assault.

I first got wind of this situation when after talking to my sorority sister who said to me, “you know someone got killed at Bowie State University over an IPod?” Because I am a very curious person, I looked it up, and as soon as I did, this overwhelming feeling of sadness came over me. On so many levels I feel affected. One, the fact that both of these women were just that, women, upsets me because they were so young, and as women I believe that we should be able to talk about things and not resort to violence, especially over something as small as an iPod. I am also affected because they are African American women. Being African American comes with so many stigmas as it is, and I think that this situation could be used to kind of confirm that black women are in some ways materialistic, or that black people will fight at the drop of a dime, or that we cannot utilize self-control in anger. Also, with this whole race piece, we have another African American in jail, her life thrown away over something so petty. I am affected as a Christian woman who is saddened by all the sin in the world. It disheartens me that the world is so out of control and that people think they can just take someone’s life because they were upset. The world needs Jesus Christ and its becoming more evident to me every day.

The statement made by Simpson, that she did not mean to do it, may be very true, but her actions show the contrary. First of all, she aimed directly for her throat, and then fled the scene. If she did not mean to kill her, I really wonder why she did not at least call the police, or try to apply pressure to the wound instead of just letting her die there in the hallway. I mean I do count fear in as a motivator in the situation, but at some point she could have tried to help rectify the situation, and who knows, Dominique Frazier could still be alive.

I read this one article, and it was kind of comical. One male student that was being interviewed said that they thought it was two guys in the situation but when they found out that it was women, they were completely shocked. I chuckled a little bit because I wondered what would make this student think that. But then I thought about how malicious of an attack this was, and it kind of made a little bit of sense to me. I guess it is assumed that when there are weapons involved that men are more likely to be the culprit. This is merely my opinion, but I guess is seems to be beyond women to have moments when they do use weapons in a fight. What do you think?

This situation is a sad one as I stated before, and I really hope that the families of both young ladies can remain strong in this situation because there are two lives practically lost because of something that could have probably been resolved.