A University of Illinois Chicago student was arrested Wednesday after allegedly trying to deploy an incendiary device and stab another student with a large knife inside Student Center East, a busy campus building. No injuries were reported.
The confrontation began shortly before 1 p.m. in a second-floor hallway of the building at 750 South Halsted Street. Bystanders and campus safety personnel intervened, and the suspect was quickly detained, according to UIC Police Chief Kevin Booker.
“Thanks to the quick actions of bystanders and our campus safety personnel and systems, the alleged suspect, a UIC student, was immediately detained and is now in custody,” Booker said.
UIC issued an emergency alert at about 12:40 p.m. advising people to avoid the building while police responded. Campus police evacuated the building, which remained closed for the day as investigators, including agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, responded to the scene. The Chicago Fire Department also dispatched a hazardous-materials crew.
Jonathan Uribe, a UIC freshman, told the Chicago Tribune that his roommate narrowly escaped an attack while getting food at the student center. Uribe said his roommate woke him shortly after noon and told him, “He almost died.”
According to Uribe, his roommate and another student were nearly struck by a thrown bottle before a person wearing a trench coat pulled out what appeared to be a large kitchen knife and charged at them. His roommate slipped on liquid from the bottle while trying to escape but fought back, kicking the attacker and striking him in the jaw before getting away.
“Before he knew it, the guy was over him, trying to attack him,” Uribe told the Tribune.
Kaleb Miller, another student who lives in the same dorm suite, also described the bottle narrowly missing Uribe’s roommate before the attacker pulled out a knife.
“Somebody threw a bottle. It went straight past his face, and then he turned, saw dude pull out the butcher knife, and took off,” Miller told ABC 7 Chicago.
School officials expected the student center to reopen for normal operations Thursday morning.
Officials have not said what may have prompted the incident or whether the two students knew each other. No charges have been announced as of Thursday morning.
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