Slasher remains in jail pending bail

The 18-year-old man arrested for slashing a student with a meat cleaver outside Tulip Tree Apartments Oct. 27 remains in jail with $5,500 in bail bonds. 

Zesen Shen pled not guilty last week to charges of intimidation and battery by means of a deadly weapon. Kaiyu Luo, Shen’s 21-year-old accomplice charged with intimidation, paid $5,500 in bail the day of his arrest, and was released from jail soon after.

Shen and Luo, both formerly international students from China, were suspended last week, Mark Land, associate vice president of IU Communications, said. 

The two men are no longer considered students, Dean of Students Pete Goldsmith said. As former international students on J-1 or F-1 visas, their legal immigration status depends on their enrollment as students. Since they are no longer enrolled as students, they could be required by the Department of Homeland Security to leave the United States.

But since both cases are pending, the two men cannot legally leave the country until their charges have been resolved.

Even if Shen pays his bail, he could continue to be detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Indianapolis, a Monroe County Jail officer said.

Shen told IU Police Department officers that the fight was instigated through a series of phone calls early Sunday morning between him and the 21-year-old slashed student.

Shen’s girlfriend had arrived at Tulip Tree with the student in a white Audi at 2 a.m., four hours later than Shen expected her to be home, he told police.

Upset with the student, Shen followed the Audi, honking his horn. He then proceeded to go inside Tulip Tree apartments and call the student. Shen said the student felt threatened by the calls and came to Tulip Tree with a group of four
students, looking to fight Shen.

Shen, a Wright Quad resident, then invited Kaiyu Luo, a Tulip Tree resident, to join him in the parking lot. He grabbed a meat cleaver from Luo’s kitchen and at about 3:15 a.m. left with Luo to confront the group.

Shen was “afraid” of the group of students walking toward him in the parking lot and he pulled out the knife, prompting the student to run away from him, he said.

Shen proceeded to chase the student, slashing him in the back with the knife, the student reported.

The slashing left the student with one four-inch cut in the middle of his lower back, and two smaller lacerations on his right shoulder and left arm.  The student was treated and released from IU Health Bloomington later that day.

Luo reported to IUPD officers he was heavily intoxicated when Shen asked him to help him to resolve the dispute.

Police did not charge any of the other four students in the group with the slashed student, IUPD Lt. Craig Munroe said. One student was arrested for underage consumption of alcohol, and it was clear that the group had been drinking, he said.  

Shen’s initial case hearing took place Oct. 29 where he pled not guilty and testified with the help of an interpreter. His pretrial conference is scheduled for Dec. 17.

Follow reporter Samantha Schmidt on Twitter @schmidtsam7.