Police say drama student stabbed classmates while re-enacting movie

A University of Hartford student has been charged with attempted murder after he stabbed two of his classmates while re-enacting a movie scene for a drama class, officials say.

The three Connecticut college students were working on a group project Sunday afternoon in a dorm room when one of them took the class assignment too far.

The student, Jake Wascher, now faces two counts of attempted murder and is being held on $1 million bail.

They were acting out “a movie scene in which a person(s) gets stabbed, at which point (Wascher) began to stab both victims before fleeing on foot,” Hartford Police said.

Police did not specify which movie the students were re-enacting, but The Hartford Courant reported it was “The Butterfly Effect,” a 2004 sci-fi thriller starring Ashton Kutcher.

The two victims, who are 19 and 21, were transported to a hospital with multiple stab wounds. The 19-year-old suffered puncture wounds to his chest and back. He underwent surgery and is in critical condition. The 21-year-old victim, who suffered a puncture wound to his chest and four to his back, is in stable condition.

Wascher, 21, was arrested two hours later in the woods near the campus in Connecticut’s capital city, police said.

Hartford Superior Court said Wascher did not have an attorney on file as of Monday.

Police said Wascher is from San Diego and was a commuter student. He did not appear to have any injuries when he was arrested, police said.

“While there is no ongoing threat to campus, we recognize that this isolated incident is frightening and unsettling,” the University of Hartford said Sunday in a statement. “The University will provide counseling services to members of our campus community in need of support or assistance.”

The university declined to provide further comment.