An undergraduate chemistry student slashed the throat of his lab partner during class. It sounds as though she will survive, though her injuries are very serious. She lost a lot of blood.
LAPD detectives were seeking a motive in the stabbing of a UCLA student by a classmate, and people across the Westwood campus remain stunned at the sudden violence.
… Students in the chemistry lab watched helplessly Thursday afternoon as their classmate suddenly slashed the neck of the female student, causing serious injuries.
The attack occurred just past noon on the sixth floor of Young Hall, prompting swift police mobilization and leaving students shaken by the violence as word spread across campus.
Police have booked [Damon] Thompson on suspicion of attempted murder.
Thompson was arrested inside Young Hall minutes after the incident. The name of the victim has not been released. She was rushed to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, which is on campus, in critical condition. She underwent surgery and her condition was improving.
Los Angeles Police Department detectives said they don’t know the motive for the attack. A law enforcement source said there might have been a verbal altercation before the slashing, but details were unclear. Both students were seniors, and some campus sources said they may have been lab partners.
… UCLA student Saad Ahmed said the violence left even unflappable med and pre-med students in shock.
“There was blood all over the place, so much blood where you thought, ‘Is she going to make it?’ ” Ahmed said. “People were panicking, they were in disbelief, saying, ‘How could this happen at UCLA?’ “
The echoes with the recent Yale incident are disturbing.