Earlier today, the UCLA campus went on lockdown after an active shooter was reported near Engineering Building #4. The lockdown has been lifted, but students and faculty are left with more questions than answers about what happened and why. Now, more information has come to light that suggests that the shooting, which claimed the lives of an engineering professor and the shooter, a student who has not yet been named, may have occurred over bad grades.
According to CBS, the instructor involved was William Scott Klug, a professor who specialized in computational mechanics.
BREAKING. Sources tell @CBSNews the 2 people shot in the UCLA murder-suicide were a student and a professor, William Scott Klug. (1/2)
— Charlie Kaye (@CharlieKayeNews) June 1, 2016
More UCLA (2/2) The name of the student, who sources say was the shooter, is not known.
— Charlie Kaye (@CharlieKayeNews) June 1, 2016
The shooting happened just before 10am. The shooter, allegedly a grad student who had a difficult relationsip with the professor, left a note and law enforcement are now reportedly confirming that the murder and consequent suicide was due to the student’s “despondence” over his grades.
#UCLAshooting: Student apparently despondent about his grades shot professor & then killed himself, according to law enf source. @KNX1070
— Claudia Peschiutta (@ReporterClaudia) June 1, 2016
According to NBC 4, Klug was the father of two and had just started his career at UCLA. He received his doctorate from Caltech in 2003. He led the Computational Biomechanics group at UCLA and was a well-liked and respected professor at the university.
“I’m just outraged,” said Renjie Li, a student who knew Klug. “I’m mad that someone would do that to a young professor who just started his career at UCLA. It’s just a shame.”
Li took a computer science class from Klug. Li said he was one of the most approachable professors on campus.
“He was always there for us. i just really appreciate him being that type of person there when I’m in trouble doing my project or having trouble figuring out a problem,” Li said. “He’s definitely one of my favorite professors here at UCLA.”
Klug’s family and friends are shocked by what happened. NBC4 reports that the professor — who was most proud of his role as a father — coached his son’s little league team and was supposed to be at the game tonight.
The L.A. Times reports that all engineering classes have been canceled for the remainder of the week. All other classes will resume on Thursday and commencement events will continue as scheduled. Students, staff, and faculty are all being offered extended counseling hours in order to help them recover from the tragedy that has just occurred.
(h/t: Gawker)