Artist Annie Richardson dies after stabbing attack at Louisiana Tech

Annie Weinstein Richardson, one of the four women stabbed in an attack at Louisiana Tech in Ruston on Nov. 13, died the next evening.

Richardson was walking with three friends outside Lambright Sports and Wellness Center, the campus recreation facility, when they were attacked shortly after 9 a.m. Jacoby Johnson, 23, a senior, was apprehended by campus police minutes later behind the baseball field.

Richardson was a member of Monroe’s B’nai Israel. In an email informing fellow members about the attack, it was stated that this was seen as a random incident, and as none of the others involved were Jewish and there apparently was no indication of motivation at the scene, it is not being regarded as an anti-Jewish hate crime.

Johnson has been booked into the Lincoln Parish Detention Center. He had been charged with four counts of attempted second-degree murder, but now a charge of second-degree murder has been added. He is being held at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center.

Woodard and Richardson had just left an exercise class, and witnesses said Richardson’s throat was slashed. The Ruston Daily Leader said the other three were retired Lincoln Parish Judge Cynthia Woodard, Tech grad student Dominique McKane and retired teacher Debbie Hollimon. Woodard and McKane are in a Shreveport hospital, while Hollimon refused treatment at the scene.

KTBS reported that freshman Colin Campbell heard screams and rushed to the scene, transporting Richardson and Woodard to the hospital.

“My prayers are with Annie’s husband Peter, the entire Richardson family, and all who called Annie a friend,” President Les Guice said. “Our Tech family will feel the pain of this incident for some time, but we are fortunate to have such a caring community to rely upon as we grieve together.”

Louisiana Tech Police Chief said the attacks seemed to be random, “victims of opportunity,” and that the suspect apparently had mental health issues. The Leader reported that he had been inside the building and apparently had brandished a knife at a student playing basketball.

The Black Student Union was holding a prayer vigil on Nov. 14, and a campus blood drive is scheduled for Nov. 16.

Richardson was an artist focusing on mixed media and collage, with works that have been widely exhibited throughout the state and region. She studied at Newcomb in New Orleans and Sarah Lawrence College of Art in France before finishing at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

According to B’nai Israel, funeral arrangements are pending.