UCLA shooting: gunman and professor dead

William Klug was fatally shot in one of the university’s engineering buildings

June 2, 2016
University of California, Los Angeles
Source: iStock

An engineering professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has been fatally shot.

William Klug, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has been identified as one of two people who died in a shooting at one of the university’s engineering buildings on 1 June. The gunman then turned the gun on himself, according to multiple sources.

Charlie Beck, Los Angeles police department chief, told a news conference that “a homicide and a suicide occurred”.

“It appears to be entirely contained...There are no suspects outstanding and no continuing threat to UCLA’s campus,” he added. "[There is] evidence there could be a suicide note but we don’t know at this point.”

Claudia Peschiutta, a Los Angeles-based journalist, tweeted that the gunman was a student who was “apparently despondent about grades”, but this has not been confirmed.

The UCLA campus reopened yesterday afternoon, following a lockdown after the shooting, but all classes were cancelled.

Scott Waugh, executive vice-chancellor and provost at UCLA, said classes, except those taking place in the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, will resume on 2 June, but engineering classes will be cancelled for the rest of the week. He said the incident will not affect final examinations, which begin next week.

In a statement posted on the university’s website on 1 June, UCLA chancellor Gene Block said that counselling services would be available for all students and staff.

“Our hearts are heavy this evening as our campus family mourns the sudden and tragic deaths of two people on our campus earlier today. The thoughts and prayers of our entire UCLA family are with the victims’ families and the students, faculty and staff of UCLA Engineering,” he said.

“Our UCLA family has indeed been shaken, but we will rely upon the strong bonds of our community and our faith in one another as we begin the process of healing.”

In 2014, University of California, Berkeley chancellor Nicholas Dirks told Times Higher Education that universities in the US need to do more to prevent fatal shootings, following a series of gun-related incidents involving school and college students.

ellie.bothwell@tesglobal.com

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Reader's comments (1)

Of course, the state of Texas and the state of Georgia have granted students the right to bring concealed handguns to their classes, and even now teaching staff are being taught self defence. If parents visiting their kids have concealed gun permits, they are allowed to bring their guns into dorm rooms. With laws like this, who needs Trump to remind us what a jejune country the USA is?

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