Global Courant
Global Courant
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A 24-year-old student has been accused of stabbing three people during a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo in Canada this week in what police are calling a “hate-motivated incident”.
The suspect, Geovanny Villalba-Aleman, is an international student who recently graduated from university, Waterloo police chief Mark Crowell said at a news conference on Thursday.
Villalba-Aleman is accused of targeting the gender studies class, and “investigators believe this was a hate-motivated incident related to gender expression and gender identity,” according to a press release from the regional police of Waterloo. He has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault; four cases of assault with a weapon; two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose; and mischief under $5,000.
“It is both sad and distressing that this incident happened during Pride month,” Crowell said. “We hope that this incident is not lessened by these celebrations, but instead encourages us to come together.”
Police say the suspect walked into a university lecture hall around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and stabbed a 38-year-old professor, a 20-year-old college student, and a 19-year-old male student with a knife. According to police, there were about 40 students in the classroom at the time of the attack.
At 3:37 p.m., police received multiple 911 calls from students at the university, who said people had been stabbed in a classroom, Crowell said. The first police officer was on the scene within three minutes, according to the chief of police.
The victims’ injuries are serious but not life-threatening and all were treated in hospitals, police spokesman Cherri Greeno told Global Courant on Wednesday.
Officers found the suspect in the same building where the stabbings took place — Hagey Hall — and placed him under arrest “without further incident,” Crowell said. The suspect initially posed as a victim before officers quickly identified him, he added.
Villalba-Aleman was not a member of the class, Crowell said, but spoke to the class professor “before he attacked her with two large knives without provocation.”
Several students tried to stop the attack while others fled the room, Crowell said. As students tried to escape, the suspect stabbed two students and attempted to stab a third student, who was not injured, he said.
“We have since sought judicial approval to search the suspect’s home to continue our investigation,” Crowell said at the news conference. “At this time, there is no information to indicate that the suspect collaborated with anyone else in carrying out this attack.”
The stabbings asked the university to issue orders to vacate the building and shelter while police responded to the scene.
Waterloo is about 70 miles west of Toronto.
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