TORONTO (AP) — A professor and two students were stabbed Wednesday during a class on gender issues at a university in the Canadian city of Waterloo, and a suspect has been taken into custody, police said.
The wounds were non-life threatening, police said, adding that the motive for the attack at the University of Waterloo was not immediately clear. The suspect was being questioned by investigators.
“There is no further threat to public safety either on campus or outside in the broader community at this time,” Waterloo Regional Police Service Supt. Shaena Morris said at a news conference.
Nick Manning, associate vice-president of communications for the University of Waterloo, identified the suspect as a member of “the university community” but declined to confirm the individual is a student. He said two students and a professor were stabbed.
Manning said the stabbing occurred in Philosophy 202, which, according to the university website, focuses on “gender issues.”
A website description of the course said it “will examine the construction of gender in the history of philosophy through contemporary discussions. What is gender? How do we “do” gender? How can we “undo” gender — and do we want to?”
“Our entire community is really concerned that this would happen here. It’s a big shock,” Manning told reporters.
Yusuf Kaymak, a student at University of Waterloo, told CTV News he was in the class.
“The guy basically walked in and asked the teacher if he was the professor, he said ‘yeah’ then he pulled out a knife and after that, everybody just ran out,” Kaymak said to CTV.
“I ran out, and after we went outside, there was a kid that was stabbed. He was bleeding (from) his arm. I don’t know what happened to the professor,” he said.
Kaymak said about 40 students were in the class at the time.
Classes scheduled for Wednesday evening in Hagey Hall, where the attack took place, were canceled, but all other campus operations will proceed as usual, the university said in a tweet.
“Our first thoughts, of course, go to the students who are in the class and have turned immediately to making sure in addition to supporting the police inquiry,” Manning said.
