Waterloo University student charged with stabbing: Police

Police have arrested a university student in what they call a “hate-motivated” stabbing that took place at Hagey Hall at the University of Waterloo on June 28.

Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) announced in a press release on June 29 that they arrested a 24-year-old international student, who once studied at the university.

The suspect was held overnight and appeared in court on June 29. Police said they have recommended that the suspect be taken into custody without bail.

Geovanny Villalba-Aleman is charged with three counts of aggravated assault, four counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and mischief under $5,000. A teacher and two students have been taken to hospital after being stabbed and are in serious, but not life-threatening, condition, according to police.

University officials stated that the emergency warning system did not activate as expected on the day of the stabbing, even though it had been tested earlier that same day.

“We had some concerns about the coordination of all communication channels. So while some social media, college accounts spread messages and web-based communication took place, coordination with our emergency alert system didn’t kick in as quickly as we normally expected,” said James Rush, vice president of academics and provost, speaking at a news conference on June 29 at police headquarters.

Rush said there were “a number of reasons” why the alert system was delayed, and that it is a priority for the university to ensure that “the technological elements of that system are fine-tuned going forward.”

The university official said, despite the “unfortunate delay,” that the location of the incident was “localized” and that “communications that were faulty would have spread to the wider parts of the campus.” He said the delay in the warning system “had no impact on the response to the incident itself.”

He disputed reports suggesting the warning system had not been activated for 90 minutes, saying this was incorrect. Some students reported that it took hours to receive an emergency alert for the incident. One student said she was not notified by the alarm until three hours after the stabbing.

‘Motivated by hate’

WRPS Chief of Police Mark Crowell said the stabbing was a planned, senseless act of violence “motivated by hatred related to gender expression and gender identity”. He said the investigation is ongoing and police have requested a court order to search the suspect’s home.

Crowell said police received “several 911 calls” from students and the first officers to arrive on the scene within three minutes found and arrested the accused man. He said the suspect originally posed as a victim, but was apprehended thanks to excellent witness descriptions.

According to police, the suspect, who has no previous criminal record, had “specifically targeted a gender study class” that had about 40 students in the class.

“The suspect was not a member of the class, but spoke to a professor in the classroom before attacking her with two large knives without provocation,” police said, adding that the conversation was brief and consisted of the suspect asking what the subject of the class was .

According to police, several students tried to stop the attack, while others fled the room. “Some tried to actively interfere and stop the attack. I applaud those who tried to stand up and intervene as best they could,” Crowell said.

“As students tried to escape, the suspect stabbed two students and attempted to stab a third student who was not physically injured.”

A 38-year-old teacher suffered serious but not life-threatening stab wounds and was transported to a hospital outside the region, he said. Two students in the class were also stabbed and taken to hospital: a 20-year-old woman with serious, but not life-threatening, wounds, and a 19-year-old man who suffered non-life-threatening injuries.