A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a staff member was shot with a crossbow at student accommodation in Surrey, GB News reported. The unusual nature of the weapon and the setting, a university residence, have made the case a particularly alarming one, and police have launched an investigation into how the attack came to unfold.
According to the report, the incident took place at the University of Surrey's Manor Park Student Village in Guildford. The location, a complex that houses students at the university, is the kind of place normally associated with quiet campus life rather than a violent assault, which has added to the shock felt in the wake of the attack.
The attack happened on Thursday morning, when a member of staff was shot with a crossbow. The use of such a weapon in a populated student accommodation setting marked an extraordinary turn of events, and it left the injured staff member at the centre of a case that police are now treating with the utmost seriousness.
Officers moved quickly to make an arrest in connection with the attack. A 21-year-old Saudi national, who is a former student, was taken into custody, according to the account. His past links to the university as a former student have become one of the threads investigators are expected to examine as they piece together what led to the assault.
The man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, the most serious charge short of a fatal outcome, reflecting the gravity with which authorities are treating the case. He remains in custody while the investigation continues, with police working to establish the full circumstances surrounding the shooting at the student village.
For now, police have said they are carrying out an investigation into the incident, and the inquiry is still in its early stages. Officers will be seeking to determine the motive behind the attack, the relationship if any between the suspect and the victim, and exactly how the crossbow came to be used on the university site.
The case has cast a spotlight on safety at the University of Surrey, where students and staff would not expect to encounter such violence on campus. With a suspect in custody and the staff member having been attacked, the university community now waits to learn more as the police investigation into the crossbow attack moves forward.