Homicide

Candlelight vigil planned for slain Georgia college student

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Fort Valley State University President Paul Jones speaks during a news conference on the stabbing death of freshman student Donnell M. Phelps in Fort Valley, Ga., Wednesday, May 4, 2016. Joseph Anthony Scott, 24, fatally stabbed Phelps and wounded campus public safety officer Ernest Johnson. (Jason Vorhees/The Telegraph via AP) (The Associated Press)

A small piece of crime scene tape is still tied to the sign out front of the Florence J. Hunt Infirmary at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Ga., Wednesday, May 4, 2016. Freshman student Donnell M. Phelps was fatally stabbed by 24-year-old Joseph Anthony Scott after coming to the aid of at least three young women who were being harassed by Scott on campus Tuesday. (Jason Vorhees/The Telegraph via AP) (The Associated Press)

Fort Valley State University students walk into the campus cafeteria in Fort Valley, Ga., Wednesday, May 4, 2016. Freshman student Donnell M. Phelps was fatally stabbed by 24-year-old Joseph Anthony Scott after coming to the aid of at least three young women who were being harassed by Scott outside the cafeteria Tuesday. (Jason Vorhees/The Telegraph via AP) (The Associated Press)

A candlelight vigil is planned to remember a Georgia college freshman who was stabbed to death at Fort Valley State University as he tried to help three female students.

School officials say the freshman class plans the vigil for 19-year-old Donnell Phelps at 7 p.m. Thursday on the campus, about 30 miles southwest of Macon in central Georgia.

Twenty-four-year-old former student Joseph Anthony Scott faces charges including murder and aggravated assault in Phelps' death and an attack on a campus security officer, who is expected to survive.

Police say Scott was harassing and groping three young women near the school cafeteria Tuesday, and Phelps came to their aid by trying to intervene. They say Scott pulled out a pocket knife and began stabbing Phelps, who collapsed on the ground near the school's infirmary and later died.