By Hayley Wielgus
On September 13, one of our students was the victim of an assault. The perpetrator of the assault was known to the victim and has no ties to UT Tyler. The suspect was taken into custody by the UT Tyler Police shortly after the incident occurred.
We are pleased to report that the student is recovering from non-life threatening injuries.
We would also like to assure the campus community, as well as parents and family members of our students, that the incident that occurred was isolated to the victim. The UT Tyler campus has a reputation as being safe, and the continued safety of our campus community is our priority.
A man is arrested for kidnapping and stabbing a 18-year-old University of Texas at Tyler student.
Just before 6 a.m. Sunday, Tyler police said a man the student used to be romantically involved with showed up at her on-campus apartment.
He then forced her, at knife point, to get into his car and drove her toward Lake Tyler.
The suspect is 22-year-old William Fears.Police said he drove the 18-year-old victim to a location East of Tyler.He stabbed the victim's face, arms and legs. He then told the woman he wanted her to harm herself.
"She started convincing him this was not a good idea and then somehow she got into the car first, he jumped into the car and she fled in the car as the driver back to the City of Tyler," Tyler Police Sgt. Bill Goecking said.
When the victim arrived back at UT Tyler, she contacted campus police.With the help of Tyler Police, officers searched the campus.They found Fears and arrested him for aggravated kidnapping and possession of marijuana.
Police also found Fears' car near campus.It has been impounded to search for evidence.
Fears remains in the Smith County Jail on $750,000 bond.
The victim's wounds were not life-threatening.She was treated at an East Texas hospital and released.
