KANSAS CITY — The student accused of stabbing a college dean in the neck Tuesday in Kansas City actually wanted to stab Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, according to sources close to the investigation.
In fact, Casey Brezik thought he had stabbed Nixon — until police told him otherwise while interrogating him Tuesday night, the sources said.
The news that he had wounded a college official, and that the official had survived, disappointed Brezik, the sources said.
The 22-year-old Raytown resident hatched his plan after learning that Nixon was to speak at Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley at 10 a.m. Tuesday, the sources said. Brezik wore a bullet-resistant vest to class that morning. Nixon travels with Highway Patrol troopers.
Brezik did not have a particular beef with Nixon, the sources said, but wanted to harm him because he was a top government official.
Nixon arrived at Wheeler Downtown Airport shortly before the 9:35 a.m. stabbing. He canceled his visit to the campus at 3201 Southwest Trafficway.
Nixon has been told about Brezik’s statements to police, a spokesman said Wednesday night. The spokesman declined to comment beyond that.
Diagnosed four years ago with paranoid schizophrenia, Brezik had been attending Penn Valley for only three weeks. Campus officials had not considered him a threat to harm anyone, said MCC Chancellor Mark James.
Brezik’s relatives have described him as an anarchist, and he ranted about various political topics on his Facebook page.
He is accused of stabbing the campus dean of instruction, Al Dimmit Jr., in the hallway outside the computer lab where a lectern had been set up for Nixon’s speech about high-speed Internet access projects. Brezik also allegedly nicked James in the chest with the knife as James wrestled with him.
In a news conference Wednesday at the college, Dimmitt’s son, Andrew, said his father was “recovering well,” and that he was “looking forward to returning as soon as he is able to Penn Valley.”
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