Message from the provost

On Wednesday our community was confronted by hate-motivated violence.

In a shocking attack at approximately 3:40 p.m., a member of our campus community stabbed a professor and two students with a knife in Hagey Hall. All three people were taken to hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Out of respect for their privacy we are not sharing more information about their identities. I acknowledge that many of you are aware of who is involved. If you know the individuals, be conscious of their need for care and support, as well as the trauma they are experiencing.

The suspect was arrested on campus shortly after the attack through swift collaboration between Waterloo Regional Police Service and the campus Special Constable Service. We are grateful to these first responders for their quick action and for the immediate help from the IMPACT mental health crisis team who were on hand to support the students in the class very soon after the incident. 

Hagey Hall has reopened and all classes and other activities scheduled will proceed as planned.

We recognize that this event may require you to step away from your work or your studies temporarily. Please check in with your supervisor or professor, as appropriate, if you need some time to do this.

Addressing causes, and harms

The attack happened in a classroom during a lecture for Philosophy 202 – Gender Studies. Many news outlets and social media sources have shared information on the events of Wednesday. We are deeply saddened and outraged by this horrific act. We want to emphasize that we stand united against gender-based violence and all other forms of hatred and bigotry, and we are committed to fostering an inclusive, safe, and welcoming environment for all members of our community. 

I urge you to focus your energy on supporting one another during this very traumatic time.

In the coming days many of you will have questions about why this happened and about the University’s response. My commitment to you is that senior leaders will be as transparent as possible with the information we have.

I am aware that the emergency alert system, despite being tested earlier in the day, did not activate as quickly as we would all have expected. One of our priorities in assessing how we can better support you in future will be to look again at WatSAFE and our emergency notification systems to ensure we have processes that work as expected when we need them.

There is help available

We have all just experienced something traumatic. Please know that support is available. You can contact any of the following resources:

These community supports are available as well:

Please use these services if you need them, they are there for you.

Standing against hate-motivated violence

In the wake of this shocking hate-motivated violence on our campus, our community came together Thursday afternoon in the Arts Quad to stand in solidarity against all forms of hatred and bigotry.

Read individual Tweet on Twitter

Thank you for the care and compassion you have already shown to each other. Don’t stop reaching out and connecting, we all need one another right now.