BY BETH VELLIQUETTE

bvelliquette@heraldsun.com; 918-1042

CHAPEL HILL -- Halloween festivities in Chapel Hill were marred during the early morning hours Sunday when a UNC student was stabbed in the thigh outside the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house.

The incident happened at 1:20 a.m. after law enforcement officers cleared Franklin Street of the Halloween revelers.

Stephen James Howard, who is not a UNC student, allegedly stabbed the student at 106 Big Fraternity Court after the fraternity reportedly refused to let Howard into their house.

The victim was transported to UNC Hospitals for treatment, and he was released later Sunday morning.

The suspect was a white male with a military style haircut and was wearing a black robe with a cross medallion around his neck. He ran from the scene, but a couple hours later, police received information about the suspect and his location.

Police charged Stephen James Howard, 19, of 1580 Winford Ave., Ventura, Ca., with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.

He was being held in the Orange County Jail under $10,000 bond, according to the Orange County Sheriff's jail report.

Alcohol was involved, the police report said.

About 50,000 people attended the Franklin Street festivities Saturday.

Officers cleared the street by about 12:20 a.m. and opened the street to traffic about 1:50 a.m. after town crews cleaned the street.

Orange County EMS responded to 22 calls, and eight people were transported to UNC Hospitals for treatment. Eighteen of the calls were related to intoxication.