Police are questioning two teenage boys with their parents present in connection with the murder stabbing of an 18-year-old college student who was stabbed to death on Wednesday night in a savage mugging.

Tessa Majors, a freshman at Barnard College who was from Charlottesville, Virginia, was walking down a flight of steps into Morningside Park on West 116th Street on Wednesday when she was attacked.

She had only been in the city since August, when her mother dropped her off for her freshman year of college.

At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, NYPD Chief of Detective Rodney Harrison said: 'We are still in the preliminary stages, but we do have a couple of people we are questioning at the 26th Precinct at this time.

'We’re going to need the community to help us with the investigation.'

He added that police want to speak to a third young suspect.

Tessa Majors, 18, was stabbed to death in a Manhattan park on Wednesday night at 5.30pm

The attackers allegedly demanded money from Majors and stabbed her multiple times in the stomach, face, neck and under her arm, before fleeing. They say she appeared to have put up a fight.

She crawled back up the steps to a Columbia University security guard booth. He called 911 and she was rushed to the hospital but was later pronounced dead.

It was earlier reported that the guard had been doing his rounds when she came looking for help but NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said on Thursday that that was inaccurate.

A 16-year-old boy, who police sources described as a known robbery suspect, was initially taken into custody from a nearby housing project not long after the attack but he was released without charge on Thursday.

He was reportedly wearing a green jacket that was similar to one that a witness claimed one of Tessa's attackers was wearing.

There was also a trail of blood leading into his apartment which police sources described as a 'hub of criminal activity'.

Tessa is believed to have been entering the park at around 5.30pm when she was attacked.

These are the steps leading into the park where Majors was attacked on Thursday. She was attacked at the base of them and crawled back up to get help from the book

Majors collapsed after seeking help at a Columbia University guard booth. The steps are shown on Wednesday

The campus security booth at the top of the steps where she went looking for help

The teenager was walking into the park when she was attacked at 5.30pm on Wednesday

The teen is a known robbery suspect who was wearing a green jacket yesterday. A witness from the attack in the park reported to police that one of the assailants was also wearing a green jacket. No one has been arrested or charged. He was later released without charge

After the stabbing, Majors (pictured) staggered to a nearby security guard booth for help but found it vacant

Tessa's proud father regularly shared tributes to her on social media. He posted his on her 18th birthday earlier this year

The assailants are said to have demanded money from her then stabbed her multiple times in the stomach.

She crawled for help to the booth of a Columbia University security guard but he was away doing his rounds.

When he returned, he found her unconscious and called 911.

A second, unidentified 911 caller reported seeing someone wearing a green jacket at the scene who they thought could be a suspect.

It is unclear what time they phoned the police.

An NYPD spokesman refused to give details on Thursday morning when contacted buy DailyMail.com.

Emergency services responded and found Majors' uncharged cell phone lying next to her, along with a butterfly knife.

It is not yet clear if that was the weapon used or if it belonged to her.

Her parents are now on their way from Virginia to New York.

'I guess being from a smaller town she was too naive to think about walking alone in New York City.

'She just shouldn’t have been there,' her grandmother, Martha Burton, told The New York Daily News.

Her father, author Inman Majors, regularly gushed over her on social media. Students at the all-female college are now terrified.

Barnard College, where the teenager was a student, is gripped with panic and grief

'My friend is throwing up in the bathroom. She's so scared,' Isabel Jauregui, a 20-year-old student, told The New York Times on Wednesday night.

They all learned about the deadly attack via campus news alerts.

In May, in a Facebook post to celebrate her 18th birthday, he wrote: '18 years ago today my life got redefined in all the right ways when this little bundle of fun came into the world.

'I can’t wait to see what the next 18 years have in store.'

In a statement to students issued last night, Barnard College president Sian Leah Beilock said: 'Tessa was just beginning her journey at Barnard and in life.

'We mourn this devastating murder of an extraordinary young woman and member of our community.

'This is an unthinkable tragedy that has shaken us to our core.'