"Senseless act of hatred": Former student targeted gender studies class in stabbing spree
Police have identified a 24-year-old man accused of stabbing three people Wednesday afternoon in a "hate-motivated incident" during a packed gender studies class at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
The attack, which Waterloo Regional Police Chief Mark Crowell called "a senseless act of hatred," forced the university to evacuate and close the building where it occurred and issue a shelter-in-place order.
Geovanny Villalba-Aleman, an international student who Waterloo Regional Police said recently graduated from the university, has been charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and mischief, the agency announced Thursday during a news conference.
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Villalba-Aleman appeared in court Thursday for a hearing, Crowell said during the news conference.
Waterloo Regional Police received multiple 911 calls about the stabbing around 3:35 p.m. Wednesday from students inside Hagey Hall on the university's campus, located about 70 miles west of Toronto in Ontario.
Villalba-Aleman initially posed as a victim when officers arrived, but police soon determined that the man was the suspect based on the description provided by 911 callers, Crowell said. Villalba-Aleman was placed under arrested at the scene, Crowell said.
Investigators who questioned Villalba-Aleman determined that the 24-year-old planned the attack in advance and intentionally targeted a gender studied class "motivated by hate of gender expression," Crowell said, adding that law enforcement has no reason to suspect he coordinated with anyone else. Police plan to search Villalba-Aleman's residence, he added.
About 40 people were in the classroom when police say Villalba-Aleman launched his attack with two large knives. Three people were injured, including a 38-year-old professor and two students — a 20-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man, Crowell said.
Several students attempted to intervene to stop the attack, while others fled, Crowell said.
The three victims were treated at hospitals for stab wounds that are serious but not life-threatening, Crowell said. Villalba-Aleman attempted to stab a fourth person, who Crowell said escaped injury.
"It is both sad and disturbing that this incident has occurred during Pride Month," Crowell said before assembled news media during a conference that was livestreamed on the police agency's Facebook page. "We hope this incident does not diminish from those celebrations but rather encourages us all to come together."
The University of Waterloo is planning a gathering Thursday afternoon for the campus community to show solidarity against "the hate-motivated incident," according to a media release provided to Paste BN. The gathering, which will be livestreamed on the university's YouTube channel, will feature remarks from university officials and a moment of silence.
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The attack prompted the university to issue shelter-in-place orders and evacuate Hagey Hall, which it said reopened Thursday morning after all classes scheduled in the building were canceled Wednesday night. No other campus operations were halted as a result of the stabbing, the university previously tweeted.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for Paste BN. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @EricLagatta.