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A former state hospital psychiatric patient with a restraining order by Cabrillo College went to campus on October 31, 2018, and stabbed a student at the campus cafeteria. Police are saying that it was an unprovoked attacked.
What Happened?
Steven Wooding, an alumnus of Cabrillo College, stabbed a 19 years old student with a 14-inch knife in an unprovoked attack. The student ambled out the cafeteria and succumbed to her injuries on the campus lawn.
Prior to this attack, Wooding has issued a three-year restraining order to stay at least 100 feet from Cabrillo College and its employees.
When the attack happened, students claimed they heard a woman screaming around 11:00 am after she was stabbed at a cash register. Davod Kamoss, a professor on campus, said he was traumatized by the incident. He was a crucial witness to this attack who cited that Wooding was wearing a baseball cap with a shaved head, carrying a 14-inch knife.
Kamoss rushed to restrain Wooding after the stabbing.
“He was walking in my direction. He said not a word,” Kamoss said to Mercury News. “We had him pinned down maybe five, 10 minutes. We called on the guys on the football team to surround him.”
Despite the huge commotion, many believed that this was all part of a Halloween prank.
When detectives came, they scoured the area and assessed the blood trail. They later determined that the student put up a struggle by running before getting stabbed.
Who Is Steven Wooding?
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Wooding is an alumnus of the college and also has a history of mental illnesses. He was also a former state hospital psychiatric patient at three different hospitals. He is also an avid practitioner of martial arts.
His criminal record is filled with charges of assault, starting with the usage of tear gas and violently clubbing a psychology professor in the face with an ax. He also sprayed caustic liquid at students face and clubbed them as well.
Before this attack, Wooding warned authorities multiple times through 100 emails and 50 voicemails that he is prone to offend again, but authorities dismissed his frantic warnings due to no signs of any clear threat.
Despite his early warnings to authorities to stop him, Wooding does not have a benign attitude towards cops. On July 6, 2018. Wooding emailed the Sentinel, saying law enforcement are the ones to blame for rising criminal problems.
“This is a good example of what happens when law enforcement does not do their job,” Wooding wrote. “Things get out of hand and they escalate.” The crime was not specified.
In the same email to the Sentinel, he also wrote,
“I wanted to reiterate that I am in contact with as many branches of law enforcement as possible,” Wooding wrote. “I am doing everything in my ability to avoid offending, and I am the target of a criminal conspiracy, and I have been framed.”
Wooding is currently still being held at a holding cell awaiting trial.
