The two victims were on a “kill list” that Mainak Sarkar had composed – as was a second professor authorities believe the gunman meant to kill but could not find Wednesday on the bustling campus, police Chief Charlie Beck said.
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As we reported, Sarkar shot and killed 39-year-old William Klug, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
A blog post apparently written by Sarkar called Klug a “sick guy” and said the two had had personal differences, according to the AP news agency.
Klug’s name was on the list, as well as the name of another woman, who police found death, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck confirmed. Another professor’s name was also on the list; that professor, who was off-campus when Sarkar arrived for his deadly rampage, was unharmed.
Police are asking for the public’s help to find the vehicle Sarkar drove to Los Angeles, a 2003 Nissan Sentra with the license plate of 720KTW.
Beck said investigators believe Sarkar killed her before driving to Los Angeles to continue his rampage, armed with two semi-automatic pistols and multiple rounds of ammunition.
Brooklyn Park police said early indications are the Minnesota shooting occurred before the UCLA killing, but they didn’t know exactly when it happened. In the residence they found a “kill list” which included Klug, another professor, and a woman. Before shooting Klug, the gunman allegedly accused him of stealing computer code that Sarkar had authored. Sarkar then turned the gun on himself and killed himself.
Students at UCLA block the doors amid reports of a shooter on campus Wednesday, June 1, 2016.
“Bill was an absolutely wonderful man, just the nicest guy you would ever want to meet”, Mr. Garfinkel said.
Investigators contacted the other, yet unidentified professor, Sarkar had on his ‘kill list’.
On the UCLA website Sarkar is listed as part of the Klug Research Group, a team of six postdoctoral and PhD students researching biomechanics.
Colleagues and friends described Prof Klug as a kind, devoted family man and teacher who coached youth baseball in his adopted home town of El Segundo and did not appear to have conflicts with anyone. “Be careful about whom you trust”, said Sarkar, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Police are searching for the gray 2003 Nissan Sentra Sarkar drove from Minnesota to California, Beck told KTLA.
“William Klug, UCLA professor is not the kind of person when you think of a professor”, he wrote in the post quoted by several U.S. media.
“We believe he went there to kill two faculty of UCLA”, Beck said. In 2014, Sarkar thanked Klug for being his “mentor” in the UCLA doctoral commencement booklet acknowledgments.
Brooklyn Park Police Deputy Chief Mark Bruley said police officers went to the woman’s home at the request of the LAPD around 12:34 a.m. Thursday.
The LAPD doesn’t believe there are any suspects in the case, but investigators want to find Beck’s auto because it may contain evidence.
The note, Beck told the Los Angeles Times, asked someone to “check on my cat”.
“There is no good reason for this”, Beck said.
A police spokeswoman, Officer Jenny Houser, says the gunman was Mainak Sarkar.
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Classes resumed at UCLA today, with the university offering counsellors for students, faculty and staff. He declared the university safe about two hours after initial reports of a possible shooter on campus.
