Drama Student Allegedly Stabs 2 Classmates While Acting Out Scene from 'The Butterfly Effect '

Photo: Hartford police

A University of Hartford drama student allegedly stabbed two of his classmates while they were acting out a scene from a movie.

At around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, police were dispatched to the college after receiving reports of two people stabbed, a spokesman for the Hartford Police Department tells PEOPLE.

When they arrived, officers found two young men suffering from stab wounds in a dorm room.

Both victims were taken to St. Francis Hospital. One was listed in critical, but stable condition and the other was listed in stable condition, police say.

The suspect, who has been identified as 20-year-old Jake Wascher, was later found in a wooded area south of the university, police say.

“The suspect was ‘acting out’ a scene from a movie in which a person [or persons] gets stabbed, at which point he began to stab both victims before fleeing on foot,” Hatford police Lt. Paul Cicero told theHartford Courant. Police told the outlet the film wasThe Butterfly Effect.

The outlet reported that one of the victims, a 19-year-old student from South Windsor suffered wounds to his chest and back. The other victim, a 21-year-old student from New Fairfield was stabbed in the chest and four times in the back. On Monday, the 21-year-old was discharged from the hospital, according to theHartford Courant.

A witness, who was at the dorm during the stabbing, told police that Wascher was acting as the main character in the film, starring Ashton Kutcher, and the 21-year-old was directing.

That’s when Wascher allegedly stabbed the 21-year-old with a knife. Fearing for his life, the 19-year-old pleaded with Wascher to stop, according to the witness, theHartford Courantreported. Wascher then allegedly stabbed the 19-year-old.

A different witness, who was cooking in the dorm during the alleged incident, told police they heard screams coming from the 21-year-old’s bedroom. When they went to see what the commotion was about, they allegedly saw a six-to-seven-inch kitchen knife in the 19-year-old’s chest, according to theHartford Courant.

When Wascher was found in the woods after fleeing the scene, police claim he said he was “curious what it would be like to stab someone,” theHartford Courantreported.

Wascher was taken into custody and held on a $1 million bail.

He later told police during a video interview that he was “into his character” and “my emotions got the best of me, and I acted a little too hard.”

Wascher was also hospitalized, according to theHartford Courant. Police say he suffered minor scratches to his face while running in the wooded area.

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On Monday, he was charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of first-degree assault, police say, theHartford Courantreported.

Wascher’s attorney Richard R. Brown has spoken out about the incident telling theHartford Courant, “I can say to the best of our knowledge he has no criminal history and the allegations against him are inconsistent with his demeanor both here and in California.”

“There was no big incident in the past,” Brown added.

Brown did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request to comment further.

According to Wascher’s Facebook, he’s currently pursuing a BFA in acting at The Hartt School. Wascher previously studied theatre and dramatic arts at California State University at Fullerton.

source: people.com