Red River College instructor says he was attacked by ex-student

Red River College is reviewing its security policies after an instructor says he was assaulted by a former student on campus in Winnipeg this week.

Jeff Chartrand was sent to hospital following the attack, which happened Tuesday afternoon at the college's Notre Dame Avenue campus.

Winnipeg police confirmed that they have arrested a 26-year-old man, who faces one charge of assault.

Chartrand told CBC News that he came face-to-face with the man in a hallway, and the ex-student lunged at him and started punching him repeatedly.

"I got punched in the face and then I was trying to wrestle with him and grab him, and I got knocked down," Chartrand said in an interview Wednesday.

"It was ugly. It was very ugly."

Chartrand said another student stepped in when he began yelling for help.

"It's all on video — I guess the video cameras picked it up," he said.

"I've told people I was punched a couple of times, but it was like, really, a lot of times."

Demanded money from him

As for what may have provoked the attack, Chartrand said he taught the former student three years ago, and he had believed they were on good terms.

But the former student phoned him last year to demand money, said Chartrand, who said he doesn't know why.

When the ex-student started looking for him on campus on Monday, Chartrand said he went to campus security. However, he believes his concerns were not taken seriously enough.

"The comment that really disturbed me was, 'If he shows up, just let us know he's on campus, but we're not going to come and escort him away,'" he said.

Red River College's security director, Keith Walker, told CBC News in a statement that it's reviewing the incident.

"Any required improvements will be implemented," Walker's statement reads in part.

"Our first area of concern is that our staff has the necessary support and care within the College. To that end, we are raising awareness of existing safety and security measures."

Chartrand said he's OK, but he's not sure when he will return to work because he's worried about his safety right now.