Student beaten to death by another student on IIT campus

An Illinois Institute of Technology student was beaten to death by another student on the school’s Bronzeville campus on the South Side early Thursday.

Jermiron “Jay” Morris, 36, and another student were returning to campus early Thursday when they got into a fight, according to Chicago Police and a statement on IIT’s website.

Morris, who lived in the 3900 block of West Congress Parkway, was found lying on the ground with blood and trauma to his face at 5 a.m. in the 3000 block of South Wabash Avenue, authorities said.

He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:39 a.m., the medical examiner’s office said. An autopsy Friday found he died of blunt force trauma to the head from the assault, and his death was ruled a homicide.

The other student, a 43-year-old man, was taken into custody, police said. Charges were pending as of Friday afternoon.

“There is no immediate threat to the community,” according to IIT. “Our thoughts are with the family.”

Morris, of Chicago, was the recipient of IIT’s Presidential Scholarship, according to the school’s website. He transferred to the Industrial Technology and Management Department in 2013 after working as a trucker and earning an associate’s degree in logistics at Richard J. Daley College. He was expected to graduate this year.

“I am very proud to be an ambassador for INTM and IIT in my community,” Morris said in a statement on the school’s website. “As I begin my final year of study, I feel very prepared to face whatever challenges await.”