BU Student Stabbed in D.C.
NPR intern attacked on her way to work
A BU junior was stabbed in an apparently random attack in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., on Wednesday morning, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Annie Ropeik (CAS’12), an intern at National Public Radio in Washington, was on her way to work on August 4 when 24-year-old Melodie Brevard allegedly ran up and stabbed her repeatedly about the neck and back for no apparent reason. Brevard, of Washington, D.C., was tackled by witnesses and restrained until police arrived, according to local news reports. Ropeik was rushed to Howard University Hospital and then transferred to Washington Hospital Center, where she was listed in fair condition on Thursday, with her family at her side. Police have charged Brevard with assault with intent to kill. According to news reports, Brevard was also charged with second-degree assault in October 2007 and assault on a police officer in May 2009; the latter charge was dropped by prosecutors.
The incident took place around 9:30 a.m. at the intersection of 7th and I Streets in Northwest D.C., two blocks from the NPR offices, where Ropeik is executive producer for NPR’s Intern Edition. An NPR spokesperson issued a statement saying, “The entire staff is shocked and deeply concerned, and we are maintaining close contact with the family.”
Ropeik, of Silver Spring, Md., served as editor-in-chief of the Daily Free Press, BU’s independent student newspaper, this past spring semester. A classics and philosophy major, she is a member of the campus a cappella group In Achord.
Caleb Daniloff can be reached at cdanilof@bu.edu.
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