The U.S. military has charged a 1st AD soldier with murder in the April 18 stabbing of a man inside the Euro Palace nightclub in Mainz-Kastel, Germany.

Pvt. Nestor K. Velazquez, 18, of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Armored Division Support Command in Wiesbaden was also charged with three counts of aggravated assault under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to a V Corps news release.

Velazquez allegedly stabbed four civilians, one of whom died.

The weapon involved was a knife, according to Hilde Patton, a spokeswoman for V Corps in Heidelberg, the 1st AD’s parent command. She declined to elaborate. Velazquez is being held at the U.S. Army Confinement Facility-Europe in Mannheim.

A second soldier whose name and unit were not released is being detained by his unit in connection with the case, Patton said.

Velazquez, of New York City, joined the Army in July 2003 and arrived in Germany in late February, Patton said.

Patton said German authorities have handed over jurisdiction of the case to the U.S. military. Because of the Status of Forces Agreement between the two nations, it is highly unlikely that Velazquez would receive the death penalty if he were found guilty of murder, she said.

She said the next steps in the case are for formal charges to be decided upon and a trial date to be set.

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