Morgan McDuffee, a senior lacrosse captain at Bates College, was killed early Sunday morning in Lewiston, Maine, during a fight between several Bates students and local youths. McDuffee, a Lexington, MA native, suffered multiple stab wounds to the stomach during the fight and died shortly after at Central Maine Medical Center.
Lewiston police arrested Brandon Throngsavanh, 19, of Lewiston early Monday morning in connection with the crime. He was later charged with McDuffee's murder.
According to police, a group of lacrosse players including McDuffee were returning to the victim's apartment around 2:30 a.m., after celebrating an 18-6 victory over New England College. As they approached the residence, they encountered a group of locals. A verbal fight ensued, which quickly escalated into a physical altercation involving about two dozen people .
Witnesses stated that Thongsavanh was driving by when he observed some of his friends fighting with the Bates students, and joined in the melee. The brawl continued until McDuffee fell to the ground clutching his stomach. McDuffee's brother, girlfriend, and friends called for help after witnessing the attack.
Details remain unclear about which group initiated the fight.
Friends and family of McDuffee experienced even more tragedy Sunday night, when a teenager was killed in a car accident while riding home from a McDuffee memorial in New Hampshire. David Germaine, a 17 year old junior at Lexington High School, was killed when the driver of the car in which he was traveling lost control.
The Bates community has been shocked by the tragedy. McDuffee was described by friends and acquaintances as a handsome, generous, and ambitious individual. Tributes to McDuffee could be seen around the Bates Campus in form of pictures and flowers on Monday and Tuesday. Students were able to attend a memorial service on campus last Sunday night, where they had a chance to talk about and remember their friend.
Like Bates, the entire NESCAC community is reeling in the wake of the weekend's events.
"Certainly the whole lacrosse community is torn up about the story," Tufts men's lacrosse coach Mike Daly said. "We're reacting the same way that other lacrosse programs around the region are."
Though Daly did not know McDuffee on a personal level, he has coached against him and seen him in lacrosse camps.
Athletic director Bill Gehling sent a letter of condolence to the Bates athletic department of behalf of the Tufts department. Gehling first heard of McDuffee's death on the local news.
"It's obviously a tragic accident," Gehling said. "I didn't know him or know of him, but from what I heard he was an upstanding kid trying to do the right thing. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"I can't even imagine what they're going through right now," Gehling said. "As a coach your athletes are just like your kids."
