Two New Orleans students assaulted

Two Loyola University students, both survivors of Hurricane Katrina, had fled for the semester and enrolled at Boston College. But yesterday morning, in what was supposed to be their safe harbor, one student's nose was broken in a fight on a Brighton street, and his friend, who had rushed to rescue him, was stabbed in the chest, police said.

Joseph Vairo, 19, of Holden, who had been stabbed, was listed in serious but stable condition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center as he underwent treatment for an injured lung. A friend, Marley Lovell, 20, of Oakland, Calif., was treated and released for injuries that included cuts to the face and body.

Word spread rapidly across the Boston College campus. Students reacted with dismay and shock that the nearby Cleveland Circle neighborhood could be the setting for such an attack.

''It's disheartening to have come all this way and have this happen," said Mollie Bowness, a Loyola sophomore.

Bowness kept vigil with the family of Vairo, a friend from New Orleans. ''What else can happen?"

Vairo, who grew up in Holden, is a business major at Loyola, said Caleb Carr, a roommate of Vairo's.

The stabbing occurred around 1:30 a.m. in front of 324 Chestnut Hill Ave. and apparently stemmed from an altercation earlier at a convenience store. Some 15 Loyola students, who are among the 150 Gulf Coast students taken in by Boston College, had gathered at the off-campus apartment on Ayr Road rented by Vairo and four others.

A law enforcement source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of government rules, said the trouble began when two of Vairo's roommates went to a Store24 at the corner of Ayr Road and Beacon Street. While inside the store, the two argued with another customer. As the argument escalated, the three men went outside, and a fistfight broke out, according to the source.

That confrontation broke up, and the two Loyola students left the area, the source said. But the Store24 customer called for reinforcements, who arrived within minutes.

The customer and his friends reportedly walked through the neighborhood, spotted Lovell, and attacked him, the law enforcement source said.

Carr, Vairo's roommate, said that when Lovell came under attack, the women who had been walking with him began phoning Loyola students and asking them to come to the scene to help ward off the attackers. Carr said Vairo was among the first to receive a call and respond.

According to the source, a man pulled up in BMW soon afterwards, jumped out and attacked Lovell and Vairo.

Carr said he received a telephone call about the fight. When he arrived, Carr found Vairo lying on the ground, conscious but not moving and unable to talk.

''He was just trying to breathe," said Carr, who is from Martha's Vineyard and who had attended Loyola until the hurricane.

James E. Hunt, 45, said he heard the confrontation from his Chestnut Hill Avenue condominium building and said Vairo was kicked by one of his assailants after the stabbing.

''He was bleeding pretty badly," Hunt said. ''He was pretty weak at that point." Another roommate of Vairo's, Kurt H. Maddern of Hamilton, who was attending Tulane University in New Orleans until Katrina hit, said he arrived to find Vairo bleeding heavily, with two women aiding him.

''They were holding pressure on the wounds," Maddern said. ''They were helping him as best they could. . . . It was pretty bad."

One witness to the attack declined to comment on what happened because police had asked him not to. ''These are two of my really good friends," said the 19-year-old Boston College student and Brighton resident.

''I'm already upset as it is," the witness said. ''I don't think anybody should ever have to witness that in their life."

According to a police report that was made available to the Globe, Lovell said he and Vairo were attacked by two Asian males. Lovell gave a description of one; he was reported to be 19 to 21 years, 5 feet 4, with a thin build and wearing a red shirt and baseball cap, who he said stabbed him.

Following the stabbing, police seized the BMW they believe pulled up to the fight, according to the police report.

''''The tragedy is these were students who came to Boston to escape the ravages of Hurricane Katrina and became victims of violence off-campus," said Jack Dunn, a Boston College spokesman.

Suzanne Smalley of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Sarah Schweitzer can be reached at schweitzer@globe.com; John Ellement at ellement@globe.com.