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Charge against UW stabbing suspect upgraded to attempted murder

The accused had already been charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose in late June
WRPS cruiser 2

A 24-year-old man is now facing one charge of attempt to commit murder in a triple stabbing at the University of Waterloo earlier this summer.

Waterloo Regional Police were called to Hagey Hall just after 3:30 p.m. on June 28.

Police have said the suspect walked into a gender studies class of roughly 40 students, asked the 38-year-old professor for the subject of the class, then attacked her with two large knives. 

They have alleged as people tried to escape, he stabbed two students – a 19-year-old man and 20-year-old woman – and attempted to stab another person.

Geovanny Villalba-Aleman was arrested inside the building.

In a news conference shortly after the incident, Waterloo Regional Police Chief Mark Crowell said investigators had reason to believe the attack was planned and targeted, and was motivated by hate related to gender expression and gender identity.

Villalba-Aleman had already been charged with three counts of aggravated assault, four counts of assault with a weapon and two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose in late June.

The recently graduated international student is scheduled to appear in Kitchener's Ontario Court of Justice today.

Earlier this month, the University of Waterloo decided to remove class locations and instructor names from public websites.

With files from Canadian Press