University of Waterloo stabber pleads guilty to multiple charges in June 2023 attack
A man accused of stabbing a professor and two students in a University of Waterloo gender studies class carried out his attack because he believed post-secondary institutions were "forcing ideology" on people, court documents show, as he pleaded guilty to four charges in the case.
Geovanny Villalba-Aleman was initially facing 11 charges over the attack that took place on June 28, 2023, with federal prosecutors saying all those charges constituted terrorism offences.
The former University of Waterloo student, who was 24 at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty in a Kitchener, Ont., court on Monday to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault with a weapon and one count of assault causing bodily harm.
The Public Prosecution Service of Canada said those offences constitute terrorist activity in his case.
An agreed statement of facts filed with the court said police found a "manifesto" on Villalba-Aleman's phone that seemed to reference infamous mass killers in Norway and New Zealand.
The statement of facts said Villalba-Aleman told police he had been planning an assault since April or May and initially tried to get a bow and arrow before realizing it would be too hard to operate and hide.
"When asked about his end goal, the accused indicates 'just to make them notice ... make an attack,'" the agreed statement of facts said, referencing an interview Villalba-Aleman had with police.
Court heard that on the day of the attack, Villalba-Aleman walked into the classroom, asked the professor for the subject of the class and then called her a "Marxist" as he pulled out two large knives from his backpack and chased after her.
The professor was stabbed in the nose and on the right bicep, causing injuries that required reconstructive surgery.
"Panic ensued in the classroom, filled with roughly 40 students. Multiple students attempted to flee the classroom, while others threw objects at Villalba-Aleman in an effort to make him stop," the statement of facts said.
A student who was trying to run away tripped and Villalba-Aleman "slashed her repeatedly in the back," the statement said. The attacker also slashed another fleeing student's forearm and hand, and attempted to stab a fourth victim.
"The attack lasted approximately two minutes until the classroom was entirely vacant," the court document said. "When the police arrived, they found a destroyed Pride flag on a desk in the classroom. Mr. Villalba-Aleman destroyed the flag. The origin and ownership of the flag is unknown."
When first responders arrived on campus, Villalba-Aleman initially pretended to be a victim but then admitted his role in the stabbings to police, court heard.
He later told investigators that he believed universities and colleges were imposing ideology on people.
"Colleges and those teaching the courses therein, are becoming too authoritarian, they are forcing ideology," the statement of facts said about what Villalba-Aleman told police.
He went into the gender studies class because of the subject matter being taught, Villalba-Aleman told police, and specifically targeted the professor.
"I don’t know any one of those guys," he told police in an interview, referencing the stabbing victims. "What I did was nothing personal."
Villalba-Aleman's sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place over several days in October.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2023.
Sonja Puzic, The Canadian Press
