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Student stabbing victim out of danger, suspect pleads not guilty
The UCLA senior who was injured in an Oct. 8 stabbing attack on campus is recovering, doctors said today.
"Our patient is now out of the intensive care unit and out of danger — and she is in good condition," said Dr. Henry Gill Cryer, professor and chief of trauma surgery at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
The university has not been authorized to release the student's name.
A 20-year-old student, Damon Thompson, was arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court on charges of attempted premeditated murder, causing great bodily injury and personal use of a knife. Thompson pleaded not guilty and was ordered to return to court Oct. 27. His bail was increased to $3 million from $1.05 million.
Associated Press reported that authorities believe Thompson brought a concealed, six-inch kitchen knife to class in Young Hall and and stabbed the woman without warning—three times in an arm and hand and once each in the back and neck. The knife was found at the scene. Thompson was apprehended nearby.
UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block visited the victim in the hospital on Oct. 9 and extended wishes for a speedy recovery on behalf of the campus community.
"She has demonstrated extraordinary courage, and I'm pleased her condition has improved," Block said.
Block lauded the swift response of campus police and emergency medical technicians, and he singled out a teaching assistant who helped to staunch the victim's bleeding and keep her conscious before emergency crews arrived.
"I'm enormously proud of the heroic actions of everybody involved under exceptionally traumatic circumstances," Block said. "They deserve acknowledgement and praise from the entire campus community."
While Thompson was known to the UCLA student affairs office prior to the incident, privacy laws preclude the campus from discussing it.
UCLA police received a report of a stabbing in a chemistry teaching lab on the sixth floor of Young Hall at approximately 12:20 p.m. on Oct. 8. Officers and emergency medical technicians were on the scene within three minutes.
Police said they are releasing no additional information regarding motive or the circumstances leading to the stabbing until the investigation is complete.
UCLA police requested LAPD assistance due to the large number of potential witnesses to be interviewed. More than 30 students may have information, police said.
Young Hall has reopened, and classes and other activities have resumed normal schedules. Campus psychological counselors are being made available to students.