A first-year UBC student is being lauded as a hero after saving the life of a young woman who was allegedly held down and choked inside a student residence building on Tuesday.
Adam Casey, an engineering student, was collecting his mail at Totem Residence when he was approached by several young women begging him to help another resident being choked upstairs.
When he reached the third floor, he found a young woman allegedly being choked by a male student, now confirmed as 18-year-old Thamer Hameed Almestadi, an international student from Saudi Arabia.
“I went in and I tried to get his hands free from her neck and but he was holding quite tightly, so I had to go behind him and put him in a chokehold,” Casey said.
“He was very determined on choking her.”
At that point, other students rushed in to help the student. They were able to free her and apprehend Almestadi. Another witness who was trained as a lifeguard started doing first-aid on the victim.
“I held him in a chokehold for several minutes until my friend Luka returned and told me I should probably loosen up or he was going to pass out or something. I just left him there and he just stayed lying on the ground for a few minutes and asked if he could sit up and I said ‘sure’ and then let him sit in the chair until the police arrived,” Casey added.
A knife was found on the ground after the attack ended. The victim, who was rushed to hospital, suffered a laceration to her neck.
Almestadi made his first court appearance at Richmond Provincial Court on Wednesday morning. He has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.
He is also now banned from the UBC campus.
New UBC President Santa Ono said he was “shocked and very concerned” following news of the attack.
In a statement, Ono said the university is now focused on supporting the victim and victim’s family as well as those who witnessed the attack. He thanked RCMP, UBC Campus Security, Residence Life and students at the scene who responded to the incident, and maintained that the suspect no longer posed a threat to the community.
Casey said he’s been referred to as a hero, but he acknowledged he wasn’t the only one who was able to help the young woman.
“There were a lot of people there that day… there were a lot of girls on the floor, the floor advisors, head of security, the police, there were tons of people. Either we’re all heroes or none of us are.”