A USC student will not face charges in fatal stabbing near campus. For what?

Lina Portman2 weeks ago

0 2 minutes read

Ivan Gallegos, a 19-year-old University of Southern California business student at the Los Angeles school, will not be charged in the fatal stabbing of 27-year-old Xavier Cerf.

A University of Southern California student who fatally stabbed a suspected burglar was acting in self-defense and will not be charged, Los Angeles' top prosecutor announced Thursday.

Ivan Gallegos, a 19-year-old business student, will not be charged Monday with a stabbing in an off-campus Greek Row after prosecutors reviewed all the evidence, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said.

“We believe Mr. Gallegos’ actions were motivated by a genuine fear for his life and the lives of others,” Gascón said in a statement to USA TODAY. “Our thoughts are with the family, friends and everyone affected by this tragic incident.”

Xavier Cerf, a 27-year-old man who police said was homeless, allegedly broke into a car on the street when Gallegos and two other men confronted him. The altercation left Cerf on the ground with multiple stab wounds and he later died at the scene, according to Los Angeles police. Gallegos was initially charged with murder and held on $2 million bail, while the other two men were questioned and released at the scene.

Gallegos told police he thought Cerf had a gun, but officers did not find one, the Los Angeles Times and ABC7 reported.

Gallegos' mother criticizes lack of security on campus

In a GoFundMe webpage set up to support the Gallegos that no longer exists, his mother Violet said her son acted in self-defense, according to the Los Angeles Times. She said he was only in this situation because of the lack of security measures around the USC campus.

“Those who know Ivan know that he is a role model not only for this generation but also for his community,” Violet wrote on Facebook.

David Carlisle, deputy chief of the USC Department of Public Safety, said the department would have preferred if Gallegos used the school's mobile safety app to notify officials of the situation. He said the university deploys around 100 private security guards every day, strategically placed in bright red and yellow jackets throughout the area.

“Because we are trained to handle situations like that,” Carlisle told USA TODAY. “The safety of our student community is our top priority.”

Gallegos is an aspiring musician who overcame his childhood in an environment filled with drugs, gangs and prostitution in East Los Angeles, according to a USC Annenberg Media profile on him published last month.

Gallegos founded a nonprofit called Project Dream that “provides counseling and resources to marginalized communities affected by gang violence, drug addiction and poverty,” according to the profile.

Cerf's mother says he was not a violent child

Cerf's mother, Yema Jones, said her son had recently struggled with mental issues following the deaths of some family members and was a peaceful person despite a criminal record, the Los Angeles Times reported .

She said she hoped they would reunite when she returned to Houston, but was told Cerf had been stabbed multiple times and died during a phone call from the county medical examiner's office from Los Angeles.

“They’re making my son into someone he’s not,” Jones told the Times. “He was very dynamic. He loved to dance. He wasn't a violent child coming up.”

Cerf posted videos of himself dancing on his TikTok page, where he had nearly 2,000 followers.

On a GoFundMe page, Jones wrote that she was trying to raise money to get his body from California to Texas, adding: “I just want my son to come home. He has a 3 year old son…I I just want him to be buried.

Ivan Gallegos, a 19-year-old University of Southern California business student at the Los Angeles school, will not be charged in the fatal stabbing of 27-year-old Xavier Cerf.

Gallegos' mother criticizes lack of security on campus

Cerf's mother says he was not a violent child

Lina Portman

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