Saudi college student dies after assault near Wisconsin campus

He died one day after the assault

A photo of police tape. (Larry W Smith/Getty)

Hussain Saeed Alnahdi, a 24-year-old junior at the University of Wisconsin-Stout from Saudi Arabia, died on Monday just one day after being attacked near campus.

Police have not arrested the victim’s assailant, who’s been identified by police as a six-foot tall white male. And they have not identified a motive behind Sunday’s attack. Police Commander Todd Swartz declined to speculate if the attack could have been a hate crime. "That cannot be confirmed at this time,” he told The Star Tribune. “The motivation of the offender is unknown right now."

Authorities said that Alnahdi was assaulted shortly after 2am while he was outside Topper’s Pizza in downtown Menomonie. Police found Alnahdi unconscious, bleeding from his mouth and immediately transferred him to a local hospital.

Members of the community are worried that the deadly attack was racially motivated. “I absolutely loved teaching the Saudi students who have come to Stout,” Genesea Carter, an English professor at the university, wrote on Facebook. “Now I am deeply worried about my Saudi students’ safety.”

Alnahdi was born in Buraydah, Saudi Arabia and began attending the Wisconsin university in 2015 to study business administration.

"Our deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers go out to Hussain’s family in Buraydah, Saudi Arabia, and his friends at UW-Stout," UW-Stout Chancellor Bob Meyer said in a statement.

"I want to make a personal appeal to anyone on campus or in the community who might have information that would help authorities locate the individual involved in the attack to come forward."