SPOKANE, IDAHO (TIP): On August 28 an Indian American cab driver in Idaho, Gagandeep Singh, 22, was stabbed to death by 19 years old passenger, Jacob Coleman who was arrested the next day on a first-degree murder charge. Singh was attacked by Jacob Coleman whom he picked up from Spokane International Airport.  According to reports, Coleman was upset over not getting admission into his choice of university. Singh, a final year student of software engineering, hailed from Jalandhar in Punjab.  He settled in Spokane, some 100 km from Bonner County, in Washington State in 2003 with his family.

According to Bonner County, Coleman flew from Seattle to Spokane on Monday to apparently begin a new semester at Gonzaga. When he reached the school, he contacted members of the Housing and Residence Life Office, who told him that he was not enrolled and had to leave. He became angry and began to have homicidal thoughts. As his anger festered, he hailed Singh’s cab from the Spokane Airport and asked to be driven to a fictitious friend’s home in eastern Bonner County.

Once reaching Bonner County, Coleman asked the Gagandeep Singh, of Spokane Valley, Wash., to stop at a Kootenai store, where he purchased a knife. Singh was directed to keep driving and look for the friend. When it became apparent Coleman had no particular destination, the sheriff’s office said Singh stopped the cab and was stabbed by Coleman.

“Gonzaga University has no record of an application for admission from Jacob Coleman of Puyallup, WA. An individual matching his description was reported to have approached housing officials on campus Monday. As Mr. Coleman was not enrolled as a student, he was never assigned to campus housing and was informed of this fact by the Housing and Residence Life Office,” spokeswoman Mary Joan Hahn said in a statement. “We continue to gather information and work with law enforcement to support their investigation. Our hearts go out to the victim of this tragic crime and his family.”

Coleman surrendered without incident and told officials he was upset as he didn’t get admission to Spokane-based Gonzaga University where he wanted to study. He has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder.