Indian-origin student stabbed in US gym: What we know

Varun, a 24-year-old Indian-origin student, was gravely attacked with a knife at a public gym in Valparaiso, Indiana, on Sunday morning (29 October). The reason: the attacker feared that Varun would assassinate him. Following the incident, the attacker was arrested and is facing charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and attempted murder. Varun suffered a severe wound to his temple and was sent to a Fort Wayne hospital for immediate treatment. According to the media reports, he only had a “zero to five per cent” chance of surviving. His condition is critical as a result of the severe assault. Here’s what exactly happened. The knife attack The attacker Jordan Andrad, 24, told the police that he had requested a massage that morning and walked into the massage room at Planet Fitness gym to find the other man (Varun), whom he did not know but found “a little weird.” Determining the other man posed a threat, Andrad said he made sure to react the “right way,” according to a charging document. “Andrad then described (Varun) as a threat to him so he, ‘just reacted,’” police said. Around 9 am (local time), other gym customers called upon Valparaiso police to the Planet Fitness club at 1270 Strongbow Centre Drive, where they found Varun seated in a massage chair with a head injury. According to police, a big pool of blood and a folding knife were discovered on the counter. Andrad owned the folding knife that he used to open boxes at a Menards store, as per a News 18 report. ‘I just put it through’ According to the police, Andrad told them Varun did not initiate any contact or get up from his chair, when he entered the massage room. Andrad said that the “only physical contact was (the man) trying to push Andrad off him after Andrad started attacking,” according to the police. When the police asked where he stabbed Varun, Andrad replied, “Uh, I just put it through.” I’m not even going to say it. It was all in his mind." Andrad claimed he reacted defensively to Varun and “took him out” with the knife. Varun was regarded as someone who “generally kept to himself, was quiet and reserved” by other gym goers. With inputs from PTI