Texas Tech student Zachary Kafer, 20, died early Thursday morning after being stabbed outside of Mesquites Bar and Grill in the 2400 block of Broadway Avenue. 

Police arrested John Henry Allen, 20, and charged him with murder. 

Lubbock Police Lt. Ray Mendoza said around 1:30 Thursday morning officers were at the University Medical Center Emergency Room when Kafer was carried in with a stab wound.

Kafer later died at the hospital.

“They immediately started the investigation,” Lt. Mendoza said. “He notified our dispatch, and officers were dispatched to this location, because this is where the witnesses were informing the officer.”

Lt. Mendoza said officers went to Mesquites, and with the help of witnesses, were able to identify and locate the suspects car at the U-Loft apartments, about a block north from where the stabbing occurred.

“We don’t know exactly what the relationship between the victim and the suspect was. If there was a relationship,” Mendoza said. “That’s what we’re trying to work on.”

According to the arrest warrant, after Allen inquired about a job as a bouncer at Mesquites he got into his car with a male he just met and pulled up to the ATM outside of the bar.
 
That’s when Allen said Kafer and several other males he didn’t know started yelling at him.
 
Allen told police one of the males with short black hair punched him one time on the head while he was seated in his car.
 
Allen continued that he pulled out his pocket knife and swung it out of the window two or three times and drove back to his apartment.
 
The warrant said Allen told police he cleaned off his pocket knife and fell asleep, shortly after that police were knocking on his door. 
 
“It’s a terrible tragedy,” Tech student Brenna Coffman said.  “I’ve never heard of anything like that happening out here, anything violent. It’s just sad. It’s pretty bad.”
 
The warrant said Allen allowed police to search his residence and vehicle; that’s where Police found what they believe to be the murder weapon.
 
“I’ve always thought of this as an extremely safe environment and a place that students can populate without fear of those kind of things happening,” Coffman said.
 
“It kind of comes as a surprise.” Lt. Mendoza said. “We do get your regular type of calls, you know, vehicle burglaries, and maybe vandalism calls, but nothing of this nature.”