BOULDER, Colo.
Five people hired at the University of Colorado through a mental-health agency were placed on paid leave for background checks Tuesday, after a former program participant was accused of attacking a student with a knife.
Kenton Drew Astin, who had a temporary job as a cashier at the university last year, was accused of slashing freshman Michael George Knorps across the neck with a knife on Monday.
Knorps, 17, of Winnetka, Ill., was released from the hospital after undergoing surgery. University spokesman Bronson Hilliard said Knorps was off campus with family.
Astin, 39, was arrested and hospitalized after stabbing himself in the chest. He was listed in good condition and was under 24-hour guard, according to Boulder Community Hospital officials and campus police.
Astin had been referred to the school by Chinook House, which teaches skills intended to help people become self-sufficient if they overcome mental illness.
Five other people from Chinook had temporary jobs on campus this fall busing tables, washing vehicles, vacuuming floors and doing other tasks, Hilliard said. He said the university hopes they can return if the background checks find no violent crimes on their records.
