A Johns Hopkins University senior used a Samurai sword to kill a man who broke into his off-campus home Tuesday morning, according to Johns Hopkins’ campus paper, The John Hopkins News-Letter.
John Pontolillo heard a disturbance downstairs and went to investigate, armed with a sword. He encountered a man in his garage later identified as Donald D. Rice of Baltimore, a repeat offender who had been released from jail on Saturday, according to The Baltimore Sun.
Pontolillo ordered Rice to stand still while the other occupants of the house called the police, according to The News-Letter.
The intruder then lunged at Pontolillo, who swung the sword and partially severed the man’s left hand, according to The Sun. He also inflicted a “spear laceration.”
Rice had bled to death by the time the Baltimore Northern Police District arrived on the scene. Pontolillo was released from custody on Tuesday and has not yet been charged with a crime, according to The Sun.
Hours before the incident, an unknown person had broken into Pontolillo’s house and stolen two laptops and a videogame console, according to The Sun.
-MARISA KENDALL
