A former University of Surrey student, Almunthir Daqamah, 21, has been charged with attempted murder after a campus safety officer was shot with a crossbow at Manor Park Student Village in Guildford on Thursday.
He was also charged with possession of an offensive weapon, two counts of possession of a bladed article and possession of Class B drugs, and was remanded in custody to appear at Guildford Magistrates' Court later.
The victim, a man in his 50s, remained in a stable condition in hospital. A University of Surrey spokesperson said the injured colleague was now stable and that the community was relieved to hear it. The case has moved quickly because the charge follows a violent attack that left students and staff searching for answers about what happened on a campus many of them thought was safe.
Police said there was nothing to suggest the incident was terror-related and that they were not looking for anyone else in connection with it. Detective Chief Inspector Jon Groenen said officers were working at pace to establish the full circumstances and urged people to refrain from speculating online. That reassured some basics of the investigation, but it did not answer why the former student was allegedly armed or what led to the shooting.
Students in Guildford said the attack had left them shaken. Liv Harvey said they were all very shaken and that it was a very close community, while another student, Mia Lamb, said you do not really expect to see this on a university campus. The university said its campus safety team responded with professionalism and courage, but the next step in the case will come in court, where Daqamah is due to face the charges against him.
