Police arrested a UCLA student after he allegedly slashed the throat of a 20-year-old female student in a chemistry lab.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Police Department detectives are trying to determine why Damon Thompson, 20, stabbed his classmate in the neck Oct. 8. He was arrested minutes after the assault, charged with attempted murder, and his bail was set at $1 million.
The news source also reports that a professor who previously taught Thompson expressed concerns about the student’s mental health 10 months ago. The professor claims that university officials told him they could not force Thompson to get psychological help, although they could recommend it. Citing student privacy laws, UCLA officials would not comment on how they handled the case.
Authorities suspect that before the Oct. 8 knife attack, there might have been a verbal altercation between the victim and her alleged attacker. The Los Angeles Times reports that the two were lab partners.
According to the Daily Breeze, after the attack, the unidentified victim was taken to UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center where she underwent surgery. As of Thursday night, her condition had stabilized, and she is expected to recover.
Immediately after the stabbing, UCLA officials sent an emergency alert via the school’s text messaging system.
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