BOULDER, Colo.—A University of Colorado student whose throat was slashed by a former mental patient was remarkably composed while emergency crews treated him, his father says.
“It was composure well beyond what they had experienced,” George Knorps said in an interview published in Wednesday’s editions of the Camera newspaper.
Knorps’ 17-year-old son, Michael, was attacked outside the student center on Monday, the first day of the semester. He was recovering at his sister’s Boulder home after surgery for damaged tissue.
“If the cut would have been slightly deeper, he would have faced very serious complications, if not death,” George Knorps said.
Michael Knorps’ parents flew to Boulder from their home in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, Ill., after a surgeon called to tell them he was about to operate on their son.
“It was a pretty upsetting situation,” he said. “No. It was very upsetting.”
“You think the worst and pray for the best,” he said.
Police say Michael Knorps was attacked by Kenton Drew Astin, 39, who had been treated at a state mental hospital in 2001 after he was accused of stabbing a 21-year-old Longmont man. Astin pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to first-degree murder and other charges in that case.
He had a temporary job as a cashier at CU last year after he was referred by a program that provides training to mentally ill people.
Police said Astin stabbed himself in the chest after slashing Knorps. He was listed in good condition at a Boulder hospital, where he was under 24-hour guard.
George Knorps said he did not know how his son, a freshman finance major, felt about attending CU now. He hasn’t yet been to any classes and has not discussed the attack with his family, the father said.
“He doesn’t want to repeat that,” he said. “We don’t want him to see the news reports.”
The elder Knorps said Michael chose CU in part because two of his six siblings attended and had good experiences.
George Knorps said CU has handled the situation well. Boulder Chancellor Bud Peterson met the parents at the Denver airport Monday night.
“The university has done a good job,” Knorps said.
