A Waterloo Regional Police vehicle is seen at the scene of a stabbing at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ont., on June 28. Waterloo Regional Police said three victims were stabbed inside the university's Hagey Hall, with one person taken into custody.NICK IWANYSHYN/The Canadian Press
Three people were stabbed in a shocking attack inside a classroom at the University of Waterloo Wednesday.
Two students and one professor were taken to hospital and treated for injuries that were described as not life threatening, according to Waterloo Regional police. A male suspect was arrested at the scene.
The incident occurred around 3:30 p.m. in Hagey Hall on the Ontario university’s main campus. The class in progress was Philosophy 202, described in the university calendar as a course on gender issues.
Waterloo police said the investigation is in its early stages and it did not provide any information on a possible motive. The man arrested was described by police as a member of the community.
Nick Manning, associate vice-president, communications at the university, said the school is making counsellors available at the scene and elsewhere on campus.
“Our entire community is really concerned that this could happen here. It’s a big shock,” Mr. Manning said.
“This is a terrible incident for anybody in the class that was affected.”
Mr. Manning said the university does not normally have a large or visible security presence, but it does have a special-constable service that works in partnership with the regional police.
“We’re blessed to be in an area of the world where these kinds of things happen very rarely. We have a great security team and special-constable service who were able to react very quickly in great partnership with Waterloo Regional Police Service,” Mr. Manning said.
Several Waterloo faculty members expressed dismay over the attack on Twitter. Some said they did not receive any notifications about the danger, even though a test of the university’s emergency notification system was held earlier in the day.
Mr. Manning said the university would be assessing its emergency notification systems in the days ahead.
“Of course in any incident, the first thought for anyone involved is the immediate preservation of life and the security response, which is where the focus was today,” he said.
“As soon as we had official notification from our partners in police, we were there notifying our community through other means.”
Police are still interviewing witnesses and no charges have been laid.
Joe Friesen