A man was sentenced to five years in prison Friday for assaulting a student with a hammer in Duques Hall in 2009.
A judge gave Mohammed Niazi the maximum sentence he could have received, calling Niazi’s attack a “nightmare scenario.” Niazi was convicted in August of hitting a graduate student with a hammer, leaving a 3-inch gash in his head.
“Here is a guy who had never seen Dr. Niazi before,” Judge Stuart Nash said in court Friday about the student. “And to this day, four years later, he doesn’t have any idea why someone would ever maul him in the back of the head.”
The 46-year-old, originally from the United Kingdom, was found guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with significant bodily injury and carrying a dangerous weapon. The U.S. will deport him after he completes his sentence.
Niazi, who was living in Virginia at the time, entered Duques Hall in December 2009 and attacked the graduate student in a second-floor bathroom. The student suffered major – but not life-threatening – injuries.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Sroka said the victim tried to barricade himself in the bathroom after he received multiple blows to his head until Niazi left.
“As the victim walked out of the bathroom door holding his pants up in one hand and his bleeding head with the other hand, students all over the building rushed to his aid,” Sroka said. “One student took off his own shirt and tried to stop the bleeding coming from the victim’s head.”
Niazi fled to London after the attack. Police linked him to the scene with Duques Hall security footage and charges made to his credit card at the Starbucks in Gelman Library. He was apprehended in April 2013 when he attempted to travel through Panama.
“I respect the decision of the jury, but I still may say their decision is incorrect,” Niazi said in court.
Niazi was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and given a $300 fine.
Charles Murdter, who represented Niazi, said his client would file an appeal.
This post was updated Oct. 27 to reflect the following correction:
The Hatchet incorrectly reported that Niazi was convicted in April. He was convicted in August.
