FIU student stabbed to death

MIAMI, FL-- Florida International University has stepped up security on campus after football player Kendall Berry was stabbed to death on the school's main Miami campus late Thursday night, an incident that shocked the university community and put police on a search for multiple suspects.

The university was offering escorts to students walking to and from campus following the 9 p.m. stabbing of the running back.

FIU President Mark Rosenberg urged the public to help police find Berry's killer in a video statement released Friday morning.

"We will not rest until the perpetrator of this crime is brought to justice," Rosenberg said.

Miami-Dade police were still looking for suspects in the stabbing Friday morning, according to Detective Aida Fina-Milian. A person detained and questioned Thursday night has been released and is not a suspect at this time, she said.

The attack took place just outside the front doors of the campus rec center, where the football team and other FIU athletes train, police said.

Berry, from Haines City, was involved in an argument with one or more people, Detective Javier Baez said.

"One [person] produced some type of a weapon and stabbed him," Baez said.

Berry was a student athlete majoring in education, according to the university. A memorial service for him is being planned, Rosenberg said Friday.

"Our hearts are heavy; last night we lost a well-liked student who was a tireless worker in the classroom and on the ball field," he said.

Shortly after the university confirmed Berry's death, FIU indefinitely postponed football coaching clinics scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

The football team's annual spring game is scheduled for Wednesday. It's unknown if that would go on as planned.

Television images showed several students, including some identified as FIU athletes, hugging and crying later Thursday night near the spot where the stabbing took place. One student dropped to her knees in grief just inside the doorway, screaming.

Berry had 164 all-purpose yards in limited use as a freshman in 2007, appearing in all 12 FIU games that season. He sat out the 2008 season with a knee injury and then had some breakout moments in 2009, rushing for three touchdowns in a span of 13 minutes against Middle Tennessee on Nov. 7 and following that up with two more scores the following week in a win over North Texas.

Berry finished last season with a team-best seven touchdowns, despite not playing in the season's first seven games because of continued rehab from the knee injury.

"When you put the football in his hands, that kid can do some unbelievable things," Cristobal said late last season of Berry.

FIU officials said they did not recall another killing on the school's campus.

Information from wire services was used in this report.