Professor of Philosophy Frederick Sontag was stabbed in the chest and throat Monday night while trying to help a troubled student, police report. The attack occurred just after 9 pm in a parking area adjacent to Clark V. Pomona senior Jared Essig has been charged with attempted murder in the attack, and is currently being held in Los Angeles County's Twin Towers Jail on $1 million bond.

The 76 year-old Sontag, who underwent emergency surgery after quite a considerable blood loss, is expected to recover fully and hopes to be released from the hospital before the weekend.

The stabbing occurred after Essig was released from Claremont city jail early Monday evening.

He had spent the night in custody after being charged with shoplifting, vandalism, and public intoxication on Sunday. Sontag and Dean of Students Ann Quinley picked him up upon his release and drove him to Sontag's office in Pearsons Hall.

During the ensuing meeting, Quinley decided that Essig should not be allowed to stay on campus that evening due to a pattern of erratic behavior spanning several days. Essig's parents were to arrive from Oregon the following day, and Sontag offered to let Essig stay at his home for the night.

"He was my advisee for two or three years. I knew him as well as anyone, and I felt that I was in the best position to help him until his parents arrived," Sontag explained.

Sontag drove with Essig to his Clark V dorm room, where Essig was to pick up clothing and toiletries for the night. It was at this point that Essig allegedly attacked Sontag.

"In his paranoid mind, he pulled a knife," Sontag told the Inland Valley Bulletin. "I said, 'Jared, give me that.' I've known him for five years. He said, 'No,' and then said a bunch of things that didn't make sense. I reached for the knife, then he stabbed me. Then I had to let him out of the car - he couldn't figure it out."

Despite heavy bleeding, Sontag returned to Pearsons Hall and walked up three flights of stairs to his office. Once in his office, he called Quinley to notify her of what had happened. He also tried to reach his wife Carol before driving himself home.

His wife then drove him to Pomona Valley Medical Center, where doctors said the knife wound had come within a centimeter of his windpipe and carotid artery. Surgery was conducted to stop the bleeding.

After fleeing Sontag's car, Essig was detained by a Campus Safety officer outside Claremont McKenna's Office of Admissions, police say. The officer, who was unaware of Sontag's stabbing, observed Essig acting suspiciously. He questioned Essig and asked to see his student ID.

Without further prompting, Essig allegedly confessed to the attack, stating, "I killed Fred Sontag." He then pulled out the pocket knife thought to be used in the stabbing. The officer told Essig to drop the knife, and Essig complied.

The officer then detained Essig until the Claremont Police Department arrived.

Essig also claimed to have hurt several other persons, but an investigation into their whereabouts showed all were unharmed.

Warning Signs

Lauren Shawn '01 saw Essig walking near the Sophomore Arch just after the attack. "I said hi to Jared, and he just kept saying, 'Everything's fine. Nothing is wrong.' " Shawn said she could tell that something was wrong, particularly because friends of Essig had noticed erratic behavior in the previous few days, including several verbal altercations with various students. Essig was also said to be uncommonly intense and troubled.

Essig's previous arrest occurred the day before the attack. About 6 p.m. Sunday, Essig allegedly shoplifted a bottle of cold medicine from Stater Bros. Market on West Foothill Boulevard.

A suspect fitting Essig's description was spotted by store employees fleeing the scene with the cold medicine. An employee gave chase, but stopped when the shoplifter dropped the cold medicine.

A few minutes later a resident of the 900 block of Reed Drive, a residential area adjacent to the supermarket, reported that a suspect matching Essig's description had broken her living room window. Police responded, found Essig nearby, and arrested him.

Police reported that Essig showed signs of being under the influence of a hallucinogen and was making unusual statements like, "I am the Second Coming of Christ." Police also discovered an outstanding warrant for Essig's arrest on charges of drunk driving.

Due to Essig's unusual behavior, Tri-City Mental Health was contacted and asked to conduct a mental health evaluation to determine if Essig should receive immediate psychiatric care. Upon examination, Essig was determined to be no immediate threat to himself or others. He then spent Sunday night in Claremont's city jail.

After learning of his arrest J.B. Waterman '01, Essig's roommate, notified Sontag.

"Sontag was absolutely amazing when I contacted him," said Waterman. "He was so knowledgeable and demonstrated so much concern. He spoke to an attorney and was instrumental in getting the charges reduced. He even planned on going to court with Essig."

Sontag visited Essig in jail on Monday morning, and notified Quinley of the situation soon after. Quinley then notified Essig's parents, who made plans to arrive in Claremont Tuesday morning. Sontag and Quinley asked to be present to pick up Essig upon his release from custody.

Essig was released at 8:10 p.m. to Sontag and Quinley, who drove Essig to Sontag's office, where they met to discuss his unusual behavior. The stabbing occurred after Sontag and Essig left the meeting together in Sontag's car. Quinley had driven away in another vehicle.

"I can't help but blame myself somewhat for what happened," Quinley said, "but Fred always insists on doing everything in his power to help students, and he assured me he'd known this particular student for a long time."

"There was no way for us to know that the police deparment released an obviously troubled youth from their custody with a knife in his pocket," she added. "But in hindsight, obviously we wishe things could have gone differently."

Recovery Process Begins

While in the hospital, Sontag was contacted by Essig's parents.

"They asked me if I would be willing to restore my relationship with Jared if he recovers," Sontag said. "I said that I certainly would. Idon't believe in relationships going bad. Ithink he'll be upset in the bakc of his mind that this whole thing happened. And I think it would be most helpful to his recovery if we could talk."

Essig's recovery is an ongoing concern among his friends.

"I hope that when we all catalogue this in our memories," Waterman said, "we consider that Jared is someone who is troubled and needs help. It is very easy to vilify him, but in truth he has problems that need to be worked out. This attack was done by someone who was out of control, not by someone with malicious intent."

Sontag agrees. Despite having lost a significant amount of blood and being hooked up to an oxygen machine and an IV, he remains upbeat, and continually assures his well wishers that he holds no grudges."

Sontage hopes that his hospital stay will be aas short as possible.

"The biggest issue for me at this point is whether I will be able to attend the CMC game [this Saturday]," he said.