Former Syracuse football player Naesean Howard has been arrested for stabbing two 21-year-old men, police said. The victims were Syracuse safety Chauncey Scissum and cornerback Corey Winfield.

Howard was charged with two counts of assault in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. It is unknown what led to the stabbing, the Syracuse Police Department said. The stabbing occurred Saturday at about 6:03 p.m. at 321 Slocum Drive on South Campus. Howard has been indefinitely suspended from the university, Kevin Quinn, SU’s senior vice president for public affairs, said in a statement to The Daily Orange. Howard lives at 450 Slocum Drive and was arrested on the 1000 block of Ackerman Avenue, according to a police bulletin.

“We are aware of this incident and our focus right now is on supporting our two students as they recover,” Quinn said in the statement. “The accused individual, who knew the victims, has been suspended from the University indefinitely. We do not tolerate any act of violence and the safety of our campus and community is a top priority.”

At the beginning of his freshman year in 2014, Howard was suspended during fall camp for missing curfew. He missed the team’s annual trip to Fort Drum but was reinstated. Howard never played for Syracuse before parting ways and transferring to Wagner, where he also never played.

The West Genesee (New York) High school product re-enrolled at SU this semester after he left the football team and the university in 2014. The walk-on safety reached out to the Orange’s new coaching staff to try and return to the team but was told by director of operations Brad Wittke that he’d have to wait until the summer when he might be given a chance to join workouts or try out then.

Published on April 16, 2016 at 11:43 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds