In just 12 hours, Ray Boudreaux went from being a respected student athlete at Tulane University to being the prime suspect in the attempted murder of five people.

At 6 p.m. on Sept. 15, he strapped on a helmet and marched onto the Superdome turf as a kick returner and reserve running back in the Green Wave’s football game against the University of Houston.

His team lost 34-10 that night, but senior Boudreaux still had plenty to be proud of. He had earned a spot four times in Conference USA’s honor roll for his performance as a social science major.

He had scored two touchdowns in Division I football. His play that night warranted distinction from coach Bob Toledo as “special teams player of the week,” an honor that meant he’d be a team captain for next week’s game.

But instead, police say, Boudreaux, an Abbeville native, went to Utopia nightclub on Bourbon Street with a friend later that night and got into a fight with four men and one woman for unclear reasons.

At 6 a.m., after bouncers ejected everyone involved from the bar, accusers said that someone drew a knife and repeatedly stabbed the group of five as a surveillance camera recorded his actions.

The morning of Sept. 21, the New Orleans Police Department arrested Ray Boudreaux in his Metairie home in connection with the stabbing because someone identified him as the stabber on the surveillance tape. Police spokesman Sgt. Joe Narcisse told reporters that detectives found the attack knife on the property.

NOPD booked him with five counts of attempted murder.

The university suspended Boudreaux.

So did the football team.

And judges set his bond at $500,000, erecting an almost insurmountable roadblock on the path to what would’ve been a Tulane degree and a bright future.

‘THE SITUATION’

In the fallout of the incident, Internet users sped to the message boards.

Regarding Boudreaux, a user named “polly7” on nola.com wrote, “Give him 50 years.”

With ESPN2 set to broadcast the football team’s upcoming Superdome showdown against the Louisiana State University Tigers, students, fans and alumni worried that it would dampen their university’s image to millions of viewers across the country.

After a 35-27 win over Southeastern Louisiana University the following day, coach Bob Toledo didn’t even mention Boudreaux by name, only saying he wouldn’t “answer any questions on the situation.”

“What happens is that people react in the moment without thinking about what the consequences of their actions will be,” Loyola sociology professor George Capowich said.

“Young people, even intelligent ones, for a variety of reasons, don’t think about the future. They are more prone to risky behavior of all kinds, and this research even shows that that’s true about things in the workplace. They’ll more likely fly off the handle and quit a job or insult the boss without thinking, ‘What will this do to my career?’ Now, most people don’t do (what Boudreaux reportedly did), but they’ll do other things and not think about the consequences in the future.”

Ramon Antonio Vargas can be reached at [email protected].