A 24-year-old man has been charged after allegedly stabbing a student in the face at Emily Carr University Wednesday evening.
Vancouver police said the accused turned himself in the next morning, hours after the bloody attack in the university’s south building – an area of campus only accessible by students.
Two counts of assault with a weapon have since been approved against Amirreza Sepehr.
A witness told CTV News she overheard a conversation between the two just before the stabbing, where the alleged attacker accused the victim of bullying him.
She said the victim replied that he didn’t know who the assailant was.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene in the building, with students crying and yelling.
“It was a planned attack, from what I saw. It seemed like he was getting ready to hurt someone,” one student said.
“During the break there was a commotion that happened and I heard ‘he’s got a knife’ and everyone started backing up and that’s when the stabbing happened.”
Officers arrived at the campus to find an injured student, who was transported to hospital with minor injuries.
The suspect fled before police arrived but turned himself in shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday.
Classes at Emily Carr were cancelled Thursday, and despite the arrested the university said it will be bringing in extra security on campus until Christmas break.
It noted there have been no recent violent incidents in recent history and the school strives to “"provide a safe environment for all students, faculty and staff.”
Counselling is being offered to staff and students.
