Two UMass Dartmouth football players had played a game earlier that day. Just after midnight, both of them were stabbed in a fast-food parking lot. One of them died.
Story Snapshot
- Police identified the player who was killed as Marvins Antoine, 18, a freshman running back.
- A second player, Kensley Macean, was stabbed in the head, neck and arm. His injuries were not life-threatening and he is expected to recover.
- Both had played for the Corsairs hours earlier. The stabbing happened around midnight Sept. 19, 2026, at a Wendy’s on Charles Street in Providence.
- His sister, Stacie Antoine, said he “always made sure I was safe” and called him “the definition of a brother.”
- Police say UMass Dartmouth student Chukuwnonso Uzoma Eze was arrested and faces a murder charge.
Two Players, One Parking Lot
Providence police said officers responded just after midnight on Sept. 19 to the Wendy’s lot at 391 Charles Street. They found University of Massachusetts Dartmouth freshman football player Marvins Antoine with stab wounds to the chest. He was taken to Rhode Island Hospital and pronounced dead, according to Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez. Police reported the attack followed an earlier altercation near a nightclub, with events spilling into the Wendy’s parking area as tensions escalated.
Officers said a second University of Massachusetts Dartmouth football player, Kensley Macean, also suffered stab wounds — to the head, the neck and the arm. Doctors treated him for injuries that were not life-threatening, and he is expected to recover. The scene drew a rapid response from multiple units, and detectives began pulling security video and interviewing witnesses who were in line or nearby during the rush after bars closed.
The detail that has stayed with people following the case is how ordinary the hours before it were. Both players had suited up for the Corsairs that same day. They finished a game, went out, and ended the night in an ambulance bay.
What His Sister Said
Speaking to NBC 10 in Providence, Stacie Antoine described her brother in the present tense that grief keeps reaching for. “He was my best friend,” she said. “He was always there for me when I would cry, need money, or just want to talk.” Then came the sentence that traveled furthest: “He was the definition of a brother, he always made sure I was safe.”
The 18-year-old his family describes was the one who checked on everyone else, who made the calls and walked people to their doors. He was not the one anybody expected to need protecting in a parking lot at midnight.
The Victim: Promise, Work Ethic, and a Community in Mourning
University officials confirmed Antoine’s death and identified him as a freshman on the Corsairs football team. Leaders at the school offered condolences to his family, teammates, and friends, describing deep shock and grief across campus. Local and regional outlets profiled Antoine as a driven student-athlete from Fall River with strong ties to his community and team, and one coach remembered him as a role model to all the players. The school said counseling and support services were available for students and staff processing the tragedy.
Teammates gathered for vigils and private remembrances, according to local coverage, while coaches spoke about Antoine’s energy and potential. The public response highlighted what families feel most in moments like this: the empty chair at the table and the promise that never gets a chance to mature. University leaders balanced condolences with safety updates, a pattern that often shapes early public understanding after campus-linked violence.
The Arrest and Next Legal Steps
Police announced the arrest of Chukuwnonso Uzoma Eze, identified as a University of Massachusetts Dartmouth student. Campus police took him into custody on a murder charge connected to Antoine’s death, with plans to extradite him to Rhode Island, authorities said. Reporters noted that the arrest came the same day as the stabbing, signaling a fast-moving investigation with clear suspect identification and coordination between Providence officers and university police.
Chukuwnonoso Uzoma Eze is charged after UMass Dartmouth football player Marvins Antoine was killed in a stabbing in Providence, Rhode Island. https://t.co/kkqVFZrDay
— ABC30 Fresno (@ABC30) September 20, 2026
Prosecutors will now shape the charging path as detectives review video, witness statements, and physical evidence. Early reporting often carries minor name spelling differences across outlets; that can occur during quick updates after a major incident. Courts will set the timeline from here, including arraignment and any bail hearings. The usual legal caveat applies: a charge is an allegation, and the accused is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Why This Story Hits So Hard
Families expect college to build character, not rip it away. Fatal violence on or near campuses remains rare compared with the size of the college population, which is why each loss shakes a community so deeply. National education data show thousands of campus crime reports each year, but serious attacks are still the exception, not the norm. That is small comfort to Antoine’s family, who now face a long legal process and the harder, longer road of grief that follows it — and to a sister who keeps repeating that her brother was the one who made sure she was safe.
Sources:
turnto10.com, providencejournal.com, abc7chicago.com, nytimes.com, ktvb.com, sports.yahoo.com, nypost.com