Campus Alert Archive
Middlebury

Random Knife Attack on College Street: Middlebury Student Stabbed Four Times Walking Home from Grocery Store

VTstabbingemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the evening of March 20, 2024, a Middlebury College student was stabbed repeatedly while walking home from Shaw's Grocery on College Street at approximately 8:00 PM EDT. The suspect, 31-year-old Jerry L. Hoffman, attacked from behind with two knives in what police described as a random assault. Middlebury's MiddAlert system sent two emergency notifications to the campus community.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
1
Institution
Middlebury College
Private Liberal Arts · VT
~2,800 studentsMiddAlert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTmulti-channel
Verified verbatimThe Middlebury Campus, quoting the MiddAlert message (also reproduced on Middlebury College's Threads account)137 chars
Police are responding to an event on Franklin Street in Middlebury. Please remain indoors until we issue an All Clear. Updates to follow.
Public Safety first notified the community of police presence on Franklin Street at 8:13 PM EDT; this MiddAlert text followed at approximately 8:17 PM on March 20, 2024
The alert references Franklin Street (the police response/pursuit area) rather than College Street, where the stabbing itself occurred about 8:00 PM
The MiddAlert system notified via text, email, and phone calls simultaneously
ALL CLEARmulti-channel+23 min
Verified verbatimThe Middlebury Campus, quoting the MiddAlert all-clear (also on Middlebury College's Threads account)100 chars
All Clear. Police have cleared the scene and determined there is no ongoing threat to the community.
The all-clear MiddAlert was issued at 8:40 PM EDT on March 20, 2024, roughly 27 minutes after the first notification
Multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in the pursuit, including Vermont Fish and Wildlife, Vermont State Police, Vergennes Police, and the Middlebury Fire Department
Context

Background

On the evening of March 20, 2024, Middlebury College senior Huy Tran was walking home from Shaw's Grocery on College Street with a friend at approximately 8:00 PM EDT when 31-year-old Jerry L. Hoffman approached from behind and stabbed him four times in the back with two knives. The attack appeared to be random — Tran did not know his attacker. A female companion who was with Tran called 911 and was uninjured. Middlebury Police responded immediately, and the MiddAlert emergency notification system sent two alerts to the campus community. Multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in the pursuit and arrest, including Vermont State Police, Vermont Fish and Wildlife, Vergennes Police, and the Middlebury Fire Department. Hoffman was charged with attempted murder in the second degree, aggravated assault with a weapon, and resisting arrest. He pleaded not guilty, and a sanity assessment was later requested. The incident, combined with a 2023 swatting hoax at Davis Family Library, prompted the college to conduct its first-ever shelter-in-place drill in December 2024.
Analysis

Key Findings

The attack was random — the victim did not know his attacker, making it a particularly alarming incident for the small-town campus community
Multiple law enforcement agencies from across Addison County responded to assist Middlebury Police, reflecting the limited resources of a rural Vermont campus
The stabbing, combined with a 2023 swatting hoax, prompted Middlebury's first-ever shelter-in-place drill in December 2024
Outcome
The suspect Jerry L. Hoffman was taken into custody and charged with attempted murder in the second degree, aggravated assault with a weapon, and resisting arrest. The victim, Huy Tran '24, was transported to Porter Hospital and later transferred to UVM Medical Center in stable condition.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Incident on Campus Wednesday, March 20 (Middlebury College)
    middlebury.edu
  2. Student Paper
    Middlebury student reportedly stabbed on College Street (The Middlebury Campus)
    middleburycampus.com
  3. News
    Middlebury man charged with attempted murder (Addison Independent)
    addisonindependent.com
  4. Student Paper
    A firsthand account of the stabbing (The Middlebury Campus)
    middleburycampus.com
  5. News
    Middlebury man pleads not guilty to knife attack (Addison Independent)
    addisonindependent.com
Tags
stabbingrandom-attackliberal-arts-collegevermontattempted-murderrural-campusmiddalert
Added April 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion