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Lacrosse Captain Nearly Disembowels Roommate In 'Unofficial Frat House' Brawl
By
Claire Lampen
Published Oct 24, 2019
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By
Claire Lampen
Published Oct 24, 2019
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A brawl at an "unofficial" St. John's University frat house nearly turned deadly on Monday night, after a lacrosse captain almost gutted his roommate in a fight. Matthew Stockfeder, 21, reportedly turned himself in to police on Wednesday, and has been charged with two counts of felony assault.
According to the NY Post, the altercation began when Stockfeder started blasting music in the apartment he shared with St. John's alum and former lacrosse teammate 23-year-old Justin Corpolongo, on Monday night. (The NYPD did not confirm Corpolongo's identity, but both his and Stockfeder's profiles have been removed from the university's lacrosse page.) Stockfeder reportedly woke up Corpolongo with his racket, and when Corpolongo told him to keep it down, Stockfeder relocated to his buddies' off-campus house at 73-20 172nd Street. Stockfeder allegedly continued to goad Corpolongo via text, to the point where Corpolongo showed up at the "unofficial frat house" to confront his nemesis in person.
The two started fighting, and Corpolongo may have wrestled Stockfeder into a headlock when the former "felt a sharp pain to his abdomen." Stockfeder had stabbed Corpolongo, leaving a four-to-five-inch slice in his small intestine and hitting him "with such force, the victim was nearly disemboweled," Newsday reports.
Police say they responded to a call about the brawl around 12:30 a.m. on October 22nd, and that the victim walked to the Booth Memorial Medical Center at New York-Presbyterian Queens. He is expected to survive, but will need surgery. Stockfeder, meanwhile, was taken into custody on Wednesday morning and arraigned later that day, on one count of felony assault with intent to cause injury with a weapon and one count of felony assault with intent to cause serious physical injury.
St. John's did not return Gothamist's request for comment by time of publication, but in a statement to Newsday, a spokesperson said: "The University is aware of an incident involving a student and an alum that occurred at an off-campus location, not owned by the University, and is fully cooperating with the investigation by law enforcement officials."
In any case, St. John's students told the Post that the school's lax bros have a reputation for extreme rowdiness. They're "just crazy party boys," a business major named Evelyn reportedly told the outlet. "When it comes to sports, they’re fine. But the parties off-campus are a whole other scene."
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lacrosse
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Claire Lampen
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