Syracuse Police added a few details, but left many questions unanswered about the case of a Cornell University student arrested at Syracuse University on Saturday for having a weapon on campus.
Mateu Healey-Parera, of Mansfield Center, Connecticut, was found to have a recently-purchased 30-06 rifle with a targeting scope and two boxes of ammunition. He was arrested as he stood at a bus stop on the S.U. campus near Schine Student Center. He was charged with a non-violent felony for having a weapon on a college campus, where weapons are banned. He is in jail on bail of $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond.
Syracuse Police Chief Mark Rusin held a news conference Monday afternoon, with members of the Onondaga and Tompkins County District Attorney’s offices and police from the city of Ithaca and Cornell University. A few new details were revealed, but the most basic questions about why he had a gun and what he might have intended to do with it were not answered. Rusin said some details were being withheld while the investigation continues and others were not yet known. The investigation, which involves agencies from both counties and the FBI, is in its early stages, he said.
Saturday’s arrest occurred as thousands of people flocked to campus for a Syracuse University men’s basketball game. Rusin said, “We don't have any indication that he was going to the dome. The preliminary information is, our operational theory right now is that he was taking another bus back down to Ithaca.”
Police believe he arrived from Ithaca by one or more buses but haven’t pieced those details together yet. They can’t say whether he brought the rifle on the bus with him. Rusin said the rifle’s purchase was “fairly recent. I’m comfortable saying that” but would not say where it was purchased.
Rusin would not discuss anything else found in Healey-Parera’s backpack with the ammunition, such as a note to indicate his intent. He said it was too premature to say anything about that. Ithaca Police said at the news conference that Healey-Parera is not known to them, an indication that he has not been charged with a crime there in the past.
Rusin would not comment on Healey-Parera’s mental state but would only say that if he is released on bail, he will be discharged to a hospital under state mental hygiene laws.
