A 20-year old female student was stabbed in the throat by a fellow male student at a campus chemistry lab today at UCLA. Damon Thompson, 20, was arrested as a suspect. Motive of the attack has not been revealed but sources have called it an unprovoked attack.

Cyril Baida, the teaching assistant across the hall, rushed to the victim's help by applying pressure on her neck.

"The poor girl was completely drenched with blood. She was talking at first but then she started fading away," he said. "We told her she was going to be fine and to keep breathing so she didn't pass out. I told the other TA that he was doing great so he didn't faint either."

Baida said he did not know the victim or the suspect but was told that they were lab partners or had worked together in a small group on projects in their lab section.

Baida said the organic chemistry lab where the attack took place is a demanding class.

"All my students have taken it and they hate it. Usually people bond during classes like that because they have to study together. I don't think it was so tough......

A 20-year old female student was stabbed in the throat by a fellow male student at a campus chemistry lab today at UCLA. Damon Thompson, 20, was arrested as a suspect. Motive of the attack has not been revealed but sources have called it an unprovoked attack.

Cyril Baida, the teaching assistant across the hall, rushed to the victim's help by applying pressure on her neck.

"The poor girl was completely drenched with blood. She was talking at first but then she started fading away," he said. "We told her she was going to be fine and to keep breathing so she didn't pass out. I told the other TA that he was doing great so he didn't faint either."

Baida said he did not know the victim or the suspect but was told that they were lab partners or had worked together in a small group on projects in their lab section.

Baida said the organic chemistry lab where the attack took place is a demanding class.

"All my students have taken it and they hate it. Usually people bond during classes like that because they have to study together. I don't think it was so tough that it makes people go crazy," he said. "It's awful, but things like this can happen anywhere."

Source: Associated Press

The victim was rushed to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after emergency surgery. Her identity has not yet been released.

“She is doing really well, given the extent of her injuries. She continues to improve,” said one person familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because of privacy issues.

Both Thompson and the victim were seniors, and some witnesses said they believed they were lab partners.

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

Both the victim and suspect are seniors who were taking an organic chemistry class along with other students who were in the undergraduate teaching lab at the time.

Thompson, the suspect, is described as a very nice kid.

Relatives described Thompson as mellow though sometimes “snooty” about his possessions. Williams said her only complaint about her cousin was that he occasionally raided the fridge.

“He would eat everything,” she said. “I mean everything.” Thompson had no other family in the United States, so he would spend school breaks, including all of last summer, at the Fontana home of his mother’s cousin.

Relatives said they had never seen their cousin become violent. “He was even nice to my dog, Doc,” said Jabari Williams, 16, another cousin.

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

I hope the girl recovers completely - both on her physical and mental wounds!