Saudi student at University of Wisconsin-Stout dies after assault
MENOMONIE, Wis. _ A University of Wisconsin-Stout student from Saudi Arabia died Monday, one day after being assaulted on a street in downtown, Menomonie police and school officials said.
Hussain Saeed Alnahdi, 24, was a junior majoring in business administration who enrolled in UW-Stout in 2015, according to a statement from the university.
Alnahdi was assaulted shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday near Topper's Pizza on Main Street East by an assailant described only as a white male, about 6 feet tall, according to Menomonie police.
Police found Alnahdi unconscious and bleeding from his mouth and nose before he was hospitalized and died from his injuries Monday, according to police and university officials.
Linda Bark, who taught Alnahdi English as a second language at Stout, said he was "very popular, very well liked."
"He was eager to learn, an avid student," Bark said. "He wanted to be an actuary. He had goals."
Bark said there are a number of Saudi students at Stout. "It's a strong community and he felt very safe and welcome here."
Alnahdi lived off campus, she said, with students from Wisconsin and elsewhere in the Midwest. "He loved people and making friends."
Bark spoke to reporters near a makeshift memorial outside the pizza restaurant.
"It's a bit overwhelming," she said. "I was hoping I could stand here in silence and remember him."
Police said the motive for the slaying is not yet clear, but on social media there was concern about the possibility that it could be a hate crime.
_Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
