Fraternity brawl leaves one dead

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- An early morning brawl involving fraternity members armed with sticks and knives left one man dead on his 23rd birthday and several others injured Wednesday.

The large group from San Jose State University's Pi Alpha Phi and Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternities gathered about midnight at a suburban park.

Pi Alpha Phi members from the University of California, Santa Cruz, also participated, police said. A neighbor reported the fight.

"They could hear somebody screaming 'Somebody's been stabbed!"' said Sgt. Steve Dixon, a police spokesman.

Four people were stabbed, including 23-year-old Alam Kim who died at a hospital. One person was treated for head trauma. The altercation apparently grew from a disagreement at a pool hall Monday and the groups agreed to meet in the park to settle things, Dixon said.

More than 60 of the fighting fraternity members and other witnesses remained at police headquarters Wednesday for questioning. There were no immediate arrests.

"A lot of questioning to do today to really try to piece together what happened. Who took part in this? What did they see? What did they do?" Dixon said.

Officials at San Jose State, where the chapter started in 1991, wouldn't comment on the brawl. In Santa Cruz, the university is not aware of previous trouble from the group, which was set up in 1995, said Elizabeth Irwin, a campus spokeswoman.

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On the Net:

San Jose Police: http://www.sjpd.org