By Madhuri Dey
October 19 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Football lovers all over the world grieved and flinched at the same time as the news of Jasper Howard’s brutal murder broke over the airwaves today.

The twenty year old Uconn corner-back died in an unprecedented attack on Sunday. The incident took place mere hours after Connecticut had beaten Louisville and he had been given the game-winning ball.

The stabbing happened soon after the game had come to an end . The stabbing had reportedly occurred during a sponsored dance presented by students on the university campus. While the dance as on, the fire alarm was activated and a general panic ensued. All the people present there spilled out of the building. In the rush and confusion, fights broke out between two groups. It was during the fight that Howard was stabbed along with another unidentified person. This incident occurred around 12:33 in the morning.

Both Howard and the other victim were rushed to the hospital immediately. Howard was flown by helicopter to be treated at the St. Francis hospital at Hartford. There, he succumbed to his injuries. The other victim was treated and released. Since Howard’s family is based in Florida, his coach had to identify his body. He admits that it was a terrible experience and hopes that he doesn’t have to do it ever again.

The University police and the Connecticut State Police, who have the responsibility of looking into the matter, are pretty certain that it was an orchestrated crime and not an accident. The whole incident seem to be too perfectly timed out to be an accident. They haven’t unearthed any clues, but they are keeping the case open.