A 24-year-old former international student has been charged in the stabbings Wednesday in a University of Waterloo, Ont., classroom in what police believe was a hate-motivated incident targeting a gender-studies class.
Mark Crowell, chief of the Waterloo Regional Police Service, told a media briefing Thursday the “planned and targeted attack” was a “senseless act of hate.”
Police said they’re still investigating the incident, which sent three people to hospital, inside Hagey Hall. In the meantime, they’ve charged Geovanny Villalba-Aleman. Crowell said the accused has no criminal record.
According to police, “this was a hate-motivated incident related to gender expression and gender identity.”
“It’s sad and disturbing that this incident happened during Pride Month,” Crowell told the media briefing,
