A former University of Surrey student allegedly shot a security guard in the stomach with a crossbow in an attempted murder bid, a court has heard.Almunthir Daqamah, 21, a Saudi national, appeared before Guildford Magistrates' Court on Friday following the incident at the University's Manor Park student village.Daqamah is charged with attempted murder, two counts of possessing a bladed article, and possession of cannabis.Wearing a grey prison-issued sweatshirt and tracksuit bottoms, Daqamah spoke only to confirm his full name and date of birth during the 20-minute hearing.The court heard he is accused of shooting campus safety officer Robert Tytler, who is in his 50s, with a crossbow bolt at close range on Wednesday 4 July.Prosecutor Lucy Lumsden told the hearing security officers at the student village had been asked to deal with the defendant, who had been seen sleeping in one of the common rooms, at around 8am on Thursday.'It transpired that the defendant was a former student in the university,' Ms Lumsden said.Daqamah was reportedly asked to leave the common room and went to sit on a bench outside the building, the court was told. The moment officers arrested a suspect after an alleged crossbow attack in Surrey yesterday A crossbow was seen underneath a bench outside the University of Surrey campus building Mr Tytler, along with a colleague, was then asked to remove the defendant from the premises, Ms Lumsden said.The prosecutor alleged that Daqamah fired a bolt at Mr Tytler after he approached the defendant, hitting him in the stomach.The prosecutor added that the bolt 'thankfully and miraculously missed all his organs and bowel'.The court heard a second attempt to fire the weapon allegedly failed. Mr Tytler remains in hospital in a stable condition. 'When police arrived, they searched the defendant who was also found to be in possession of a zombie-style knife and a lock knife,' Ms Limsden alleged. Prosecutors said Daqamah had been a student at the university until January, when he was informed he was no longer enrolled and should leave the campus.The prosecutor further told the court inquiries are still ongoing as to how long the defendant has been staying in the UK.No plea was entered and no bail was granted. District Judge Claire Hubbard remanded Daqamah in custody. Police officers and security at the University of Surrey's Manor Park Student Village todayShe told the defendant the case was being sent to the Crown Court because of its seriousness. He is due to appear at Guildford Crown Court on July 9 at 10am.The court heard police body-worn camera footage forms part of the evidence in the case. The victim has not yet provided a statement.Hiya Biswas, 19, a first-year law student, described the campus safety officer as 'very bubbly, smiley', adding that everyone's concern is making sure that he is okay.She said students were 'very shaken' by what had happened and said it was 'terrifying' that it had happened so close and on the university campus.Ms Biswas explained how she woke up yesterday morning to the sound of shouting outside her accommodation. 'Around 10-ish, I was asleep and woken up by the shouting of 'you've shot me with a crossbow, you idiot', along those lines,' she said.'You get up and you look, and there's like people restraining somebody on the floor, and one of the campus security people has, like, one of the metal arrows sticking out of his abdomen. It was crazy.'Speaking of the victim, Ms Biswas added: 'He's very bubbly, smiley. He's just always around everywhere.'She also said: 'We were just kind of very shaken, because we were just surprised to see something like that – because obviously, it can happen anywhere, but the fact that it did happen so close to us, and especially on university campus, it's just terrifying.' Ms Biswas continued: 'They (the University of Surrey) sent out a bunch of emails to us about wellbeing, if we had any concerns, sort of reassuring us, keeping us informed of what's going on and everything.'But I think everyone's main concern right now is just making sure that the campus safety officer is OK.'Another University of Surrey student said she witnessed the victim being taken away in an ambulance.First-year criminology and forensics student Eliza Eaton, 19, said the campus security officer who was shot appeared to be 'in a lot of pain'.'Just before 10, I woke up, heard screaming outside, someone was kind of distressed, calling for an ambulance,' she said.'So, me and my flatmate kind of came out and saw a guy lying on the floor being attended to, in so much pain, and another guy was sort of pinned down next to him by campus security. Obviously it wasn't a nice sight, he was in a lot of pain.'The police and ambulance were then called, and they were amazing, and they got here as quick as they could, attended to the guy on the floor, made sure we were all okay. He then obviously was taken away in the ambulance. A police car at the University of Surrey's Manor Park Student Village in Guildford yesterday'We didn't really know what was going on, so we kind of headed back inside because it was all just bizarre, nothing was really clear – but obviously now we know what happened, and yeah, it was crazy.'Ms Eaton said it has left her 'in shock' and feeling 'uneasy', but said she has always felt safe on campus.Surrey Police Chief Superintendent Jon Groenen said: 'We know how concerning this incident is, both for the university community and for local residents here in Guildford.'Our officers are working at pace to establish the full circumstances of what occurred. There is nothing to suggest this incident is terror-related and we are not looking for anyone else in connection with it.'We continue to work closely with the university and at this time, I would ask people to refrain from speculating online to preserve the integrity of the investigation. If you have any information that could assist our enquiries, please contact us directly.'The victim is thankfully now in a stable condition. He remains in hospital and we continue to provide support to his family.'Police officers were still on the scene this morning, following a significant emergency service presence yesterday. People could still access the Royal Surrey County Hospital and the university, and the campus remained fully open and operational.A University of Surrey spokesman said: 'We have been informed that our colleague is now in a stable condition and our entire community is relieved to hear this news. We wish him a full and speedy recovery. 'We also want to take this opportunity to thank our campus safety team. 'They responded with professionalism and courage to this incident, and their commitment to keeping this community safe is something we are deeply proud of. Our thoughts are with all of them.'Anyone who witnessed the incident or has details which may help police is asked to call 101 or use Surrey Police's online form, quoting reference PR/45260065706
Saudi ex-student 'shot security guard in stomach with crossbow'
Almunthir Daqamah, 21, a Saudi national, appeared before Guildford Magistrates' Court on Friday following the incident at the University's Manor Park student village.













