Officials: 23-year-old man fatally stabbed inside Trenton arena during basketball tournament

TRENTON, N.J. - Trenton police are investigating the fatal stabbing of a 23-year-old Trenton man that occurred during a high school basketball tournament at CURE Insurance Arena Thursday night. 

Authorities say someone stabbed the victim, identified as 23-year-old Khalil Glanton, of Trenton, multiple times inside the arena around 8:30 p.m. 

He was rushed to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, where he died a short time later.

James Earle, the Superintendent of Trenton Public Schools, said Glanton was a 2019 Trenton Central High School graduate. 

According to Earle, the incident was caught on video and posted on social media and crisis teams have been activated at local schools to help struggling students and staff members.

"The past two weeks have been traumatic for our TPS family. Students and staff have experienced tragic events happening inside schools, within our community, and watched them unfold across the country," Earle said. "As a district, our work continues to be critical to changing the circumstances of our young people. Students need access to better options for resolving conflict. We will continue to work closely with the Trenton Police Department to ensure the safety of our staff and students." 

Police are actively investigating the stabbing, though no arrests have been made.

Trenton Mayor, Reed Gusciora, is calling on Mercer County to do an independent investigation into security breaches at the county facility. "At a time when we should be celebrating the achievements of our basketball team, who won the county championship at CURE Arena, we're instead confronted with acts by individuals whose main goal seems to be to commit violence."

Carmen Bailey was working at CURE Arena when the stabbing happened and later learned the victim is her neighbor. "And, just to come home and find out it was my neighbor's son and I know his mom. She's a very, very nice person. He's a very nice kid. He didn't deserve it. I really hope they find out who did this."

Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at 609-989-6406. Additionally, information can be emailed to mchtftips@mercercounty.org.