UCLA Stabbing Shocks California
October 9, 2009 | Christopher G.
Police Take Witness Statements in the aftermath of the altercation. Photo by Spencer Weiner, LA Times, Oct. 8 2009
The LAPD is still seeking motive for a stabbing that took place in a chemistry lab at UCLA a little after noon on 10/08/09. Damon D. Thompson, arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, allegedly slashed the throat of a female student after the two got in a verbal altercation during an undergraduate organic chemistry class they were both taking. The LA Times has the full story.
Apparently, a graduate student who works as a teaching assistant in a nearby lab escorted the victim into his office, and with the aid of another assistant, kept pressure on the wound and worked to keep her conscious while UCLA police and medics rushed to the scene. The victim’s condition was critical but is currently improving as she receives treatment at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. The student body remains shocked over such a grisly event, and the second stabbing involving UCLA in weeks; the first happening last month at an off-campus fraternity.
My own interactions with students have been of varying degrees of somberness. Some have been frightened, others merely worried. Some attempt humor as a way to get past an uncomfortable situation. Some view it as amplified by the stress of a very stringent academic program.
“This is just more proof that it’s way too stressful to be Pre-Med,” Vincent, a 2nd year pre-medical student at UCLA, said. “There’s way too much competition here.”
While it is unconfirmed if the victim or assailant are pre-medical students, the stabbing did take place in an organic chemistry class. Life continues, of course: UCLA is a large school, and I have met no one who knew the victim personally. As such, it is difficult for most to focus on this tragedy after a while with homework and tests looming. One student told the story of how he had a 12:00 pm class that day in the very same building as where the stabbing occurred, but he slept through it. Some took this as an interesting reminder of how very close we can be to crime, while others made it into a good defense of skipping class. No matter the reaction of the students, everyone has expressed their concern for the victim, their sympathy for the victim’s friends and family, and are hoping for her quick recovery.
Isn’t that interesting how humor always comes up as a coping mechanism for tragedy in these situations?