Motivation in UW-Stout Fatal Assault Unknown

Police continue to look for the assailant who attacked student

Police in western Wisconsin continue to look for the assailant who attacked and killed a university student from Saudi Arabia.

Menomonie Police Cmdr. Todd Swartz said Wednesday investigators are following up with a number of people who were in the downtown bar area celebrating Halloween when Hussain Saeed Alnahdi was beaten about 2 a.m. Sunday.

Swartz says there was one particular witness who saw a white male run from the scene. Police have not located that man. Officers are gathering surveillance video from area businesses in hopes it will provide some answers in the case. Swartz says police do not known the motivation behind the attack.

A news conference by Police Chief Eric Atkinson and University of Wisconsin-Stout Chancellor Bob Meyer was scheduled for Wednesday at 1 p.m. on campus. Alnahdi was from Buraydah, Saudi Arabia, and was a junior majoring in business administration.

Officials are now offering a reward for information leading to the conviction of the person who attacked Alnahdi.

Chancellor Bob Meyer and Police Chief Eric Atkinson announced a $15,000 reward from private donation and the university’s foundation Wednesday.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations Director Nihad Awad says there’s a rising number of anti-Muslim incidents nationwide, which raises concerns about a possible bias motive in this case.