Staff Reporter
Authorities at the University of the Free State (UFS) are working with the police to establish circumstances that led to the deaths of two students in separate incidents at the institution’s QwaQwa and Bloemfontein campuses on Wednesday.
In the first incident which happened in Phuthaditjhaba, QwaQwa, some students living at an off-campus residence were attacked by unknown assailants in the early hours of Wednesday, leaving one student dead and two other in hospital with critical injuries.
In the second case, a male student living in one of the residences on the Bloemfontein campus was found dead in his room on the same day. It could not be immediately established when he passed away.
UFS spokesperson Lacea Loader told The Free Stater in a written response that the motive behind what the university has described as a “senseless attack” remains unknown and the police are still investigating.
She could not give details on the nature of injuries suffered by the students saying the police will give details at an appropriate time.
“As the incident is still being investigated, the nature of the injuries suffered by the students cannot be shared,” said Loader.
“The university does not have information about the sort of weapons used in the attack . . . The group of students were attacked in a place off-campus during the early hours of Wednesday,” she added.
In an earlier statement, university management said it “extends its deepest condolences to the families, relatives and friends of the two students, wishing them strength during this difficult time”.
It also promised to provide support to the families of all the victims including those in hospital.