(Waterloo, Ont.) A triple stabbing during a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo was allegedly motivated by hate, police said on Thursday, who have laid multiple charges against a student from 24 years.
The assault, which took place on campus about 100 kilometers west of Toronto a day earlier, injured three and shook many others.
Police say Geovanny Villalba-Aleman faces three counts of aggravated assault, four counts of assault with a weapon and two counts of carrying a weapon with a dangerous purpose.
“The accused targeted a gender studies class and investigators believe it was a hate-motivated incident related to gender expression and gender identity,” police said. Waterloo Region in a news release.
The attacks sent a 38-year-old teacher and two students – a 20-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man – to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Students in shock
Worried students have wondered why it took them hours to receive an emergency alert about what happened.
“I was completely shocked,” said Mara Crassweller, a student, who was sitting in the hallway where the attack took place on Thursday.
Classes had resumed, but the campus was largely deserted the day after the events.
“I am here every day and I have not seen [le campus] so calm for a very long time, added Mme Crassweller. It’s a bit strange, especially in this building right now. »
She said it took her about three hours to receive an emergency alert from the university following the attack.
Brianna Egan, a 23-year-old accounting student, said her class, which was in the same building as the gender studies class, ended minutes before the tragedy.
” [C’était] kinda terrifying to be honest, especially with how long it took college to respond,” she testified.
The university promises transparency
In a bulletin posted on the university’s website Thursday morning, a senior university administrator acknowledged that the alert system “did not activate as quickly as we all expected”, although was tested earlier on Wednesday.
“In the next few days many of you will have questions about why this happened and the university’s response. My commitment to you is that senior leaders will be as transparent as possible with the information we have,” said James Rush, Vice Provost Academic and Dean.
Students were expected to gather for a moment of silence in the university’s arts quadrangle later Thursday afternoon.
In a written statement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the attack “horrifying and unacceptable.”
“This type of violence must be condemned unceasingly. Our thoughts are with the professor and the two students who were injured,” he wrote on Twitter.
Police said there were around 40 students inside the classroom when the assault took place.
The accused, an international student, was found in the building soon after and arrested, police said. He appeared in court for a bail hearing on Thursday afternoon.