APTOS — A man was arrested for allegedly stabbing a woman at Cabrillo College Wednesday afternoon.
Steven John Wooding, 49, faces multiple charges.
The stabbing occurred near the school’s cafeteria, officials at the scene said.
Wooding did not know the 19-year-old victim, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Cleveland said.
The incident is not Wooding’s first trouble at the Aptos college.
According to Cleveland, Wooding spent time in a mental institution about 10 years ago after he assaulted a Cabrillo College staff member.
Court records show charges in 1994 for assault, causing great bodily injury and using tear gas against another person.
Cabrillo took out a restraining order against Wooding a little more than a week ago after he reportedly made several harassing phone calls to Cabrillo staff members, Cleveland said.
The attack on the woman at about 11:45 a.m. was unprovoked, Cleveland said.
According to Cabrillo College spokesman Terrence Willett, many people saw the attack.
Several students then “neutralized” the suspect until deputies arrived, Willet said.
The woman, who is a student at Cabrillo, suffered a “superficial” wound, he said. She was taken by ground ambulance to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center ‪in San Jose, where she was listed in stable condition.
Kevin Antonio said he had just gotten out of class when he heard yelling and screaming.
“I came around the corner and heard a woman screaming, ‘call 911’” he said. “At first I thought it was a Halloween prank, then I saw she was bleeding and realized it was real. This is pretty strange. It was really intense.”
Cleveland said that investigators have recovered the knife used in the attack.
Student Shelby Miller said she heard about the attack when she got out of an engineering class.
“It’s really scary,” she said. “It’s definitely frightening to hear about this on my campus.”
No classes were cancelled, although students were advised to stay away from the 900 building that houses the cafeteria during the investigation.
Cleveland praised the staff and students who restrained Wooding.
“Had the manager not intervened, Wooding could have potentially attacked more students,” he said. “This is a very tragic event, but it could have been a lot worse. We commend their bravery.”
