Jafar Karzoun, UConn Student, in Critical Condition After being Punched in the Face, Suspect Edi Rapo Charged in Assault

UConn student, Jafar Karzoun, in critical condition after being punched in the face by Edi Rapo in alcohol-fueled fight.

Jafar B. Karzoun, a student at University of Connecticut, is in critical condition after being punched in the head in an alcohol-fueled fight near a restaurant at UConn early Friday morning. The perpetrator, Edi Rapo, a 19 year old student at Manchester Community College, has been arraigned in Superior Court in Rockdale on charges of second-degree assault, breach of peace and third-degree forgery, according to the CTNow.com. Rapo reportedly had a fake ID in his possession.

At first, Rapo told police that he wasn't involved in the fight, according to a police report. Then he acknowledged that he punched Karzoun once in the face with his left fist. Karzoun immediately fell unconscious. Rapo told police he didn't mean to knock Karzoun out, the report states. His attorney, Leslie Cunningham, told the court her client had been threatened and that " he was defending somebody else." His family is from Albania, she said. "They came here to provide a better education for him," Cunningham said. He is their only child. Source: CTNow

The university is celebrating its Spring Weekend and 17 others were arrested on a variety of criminal charges Friday night.

UPDATE#1:  Officials from Hartford Hospital said a University of Connecticut student who was assaulted last weekend has died. This is such a tragedy.