Johns Hopkins student kills intruder with samurai sword

BALTIMORE – Johns Hopkins undergraduate John Pontolillo used a samurai sword to kill an intruder in his off-campus residence at the 300 block of E. University Parkway early Tuesday morning.

Police detective Donny Moses of the Baltimore Northern Police District reported that the intruder bled out on the scene.

The senior from Wall, Pa., has not yet been charged with any crime, although investigations remain ongoing, according to Moses.

At around 1:20 a.m, officers were called by a neighbor who reported a suspicious person on the front porch of the home.

"The neighbor reported seeing a black male wearing a black tee shirt on the porch. That person had disappeared from the porch when the Hopkins student searching the house stumbling upon him hiding in the garage," Moses said.

Pontolillo, more commonly known as "Ponts," confronted the intruder after hearing a disturbance in the basement. He went downstairs, armed with a sword.

According to Moses, Ponts confronted the intruder and ordered him to stand still. He also called for police and for help.

"The intruder lunged at him. The student in panic swung the sword, struck the intruder in the left wrist, partially severing the hand," Moses said.

Senior Andres Contreras heard the incident nearby in his house. "I was in my kitchen at around one something, and all of a sudden I heard someone yell, 'Get down get the f-on the ground.' I knew there were robberies going on [in the neighborhood]. It sounded like police. They kept yelling, 'don't you f-move," he said.

"I could hear [the intruder] screaming, [but] I thought he was being roughhoused and was just upset," Contreras added.

Moses confirmed that there had been a burglary earlier that day in the same location, in which two laptops and a Sony PlayStation were stolen.

Ponts's roommate, junior Woody Campbell, was unavailable for comment.

Junior Brandon Doan, who lives a few blocks away walked past the crime scene earlier today.

"There were a few pools of blood in the back yard and a few blood splatter stains on the garage," he said.

University officials were unavailable for comment.

"We were very fortunate that no student was harmed last night. All of us should take action to minimize the chances that we will be victimized," Dean of Student Life Susan Boswell wrote in an e-mail to the student body on Tuesday afternoon.