University of Waterloo stabbings: School attacker pleads guilty to 5 charges

The former University of Waterloo student who was involved in the stabbing attack at the school last year has pleaded guilty to a number of charges against him.

Geovanny Villalba-Aleman, 24, was in a Kitchener courtroom on Monday and pleaded guilty to two charges of aggravated assault, one charge of assault causing bodily harm and one charge of assault with a weapon.

Two students and a professor were injured after a man showed up in a gender studies class on June 28, 2023 and drew knives for an attack.

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Waterloo police had described the attack as being hate-motivated as Villalba-Aleman walked into the classroom and asked the professor to confirm that it was a class on gender identity before the attack began.

A day after the attack, police Chief Mark Crowell said he then drew his knives on the professor before others became involved.

“Several students attempted to stop the attack while others fled the room while students were trying to escape,” he explained.

“The accused stabbed two students and attempted to stab a third student who was not physically injured as a result of the attack.”

The chief said the suspect then attempted to pose as a victim to avoid being arrested.

“The information I have is that once the initial attacks occurred that you can imagine a flurry of movement and activity and that he sought to blend in and essentially to hide in plain sight,” Crowell offered.

“Thankfully, because of excellent witness information, we had a good description of who the individual was, and we’re able to identify that was a suspect.”

— with files from The Canadian Press, Global News