Oikos University shooting: gunman was ‘searching for administrator’

THE South Korean man who allegedly left seven people dead and three others injured in a shooting spree at a Christian university in California had been teased over his poor English schools and was expelled from the school for behavioural problems, authorities have said.

One L Goh, 43, apparently opened fire on staff and students after failing to find a female administrator at the school.

He had felt “disrespected” and “isolated” by others at the institution, local police chief Howard Jordan said.

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Mr Goh was expelled in January for behavioural problems, Mr Jordan said.

He appeared to have been planning the attack for several weeks and was upset with administrators and several students at the college, which was founded to help Korean immigrants adjust to a new country and find careers in nursing and religious ministry.

Mr Jordan said: “They disrespected him, laughed at him. They made fun of his lack of English speaking skills. It made him feel isolated compared to the other students.”

Mr Jordan said Mr Goh tried to find a female administrator on Monday and began shooting when he learned she wasn’t there. The victims, who range in age from 21 to 40, were from various countries, including Nigeria, Nepal and the Philippines.

Mr Jordan added: “While he’s being very co-operative with us, you expect some level of remorse for someone who just killed seven people that he really didn’t even know.”

Police were still looking for the gun used, which Mr Jordan described as a semiautomatic handgun bought legally.

Police said Mr Goh apparently drove from the campus after the shootings and surrendered to officers inside a supermarket.

Of the seven fatalities, five died at the scene and another two in hospital. The wounded are in stable condition, and at least one person was released from the hospital yesterday.

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The family of Dawinder Kaur, 19, one of those injured, told local media that she was being treated for a gunshot to her elbow.

She had told her family that the gunman was a student in her nursing class who had been absent for months before returning on Monday. He entered the classroom and ordered students to line up against the wall. When he showed his gun, students began running and he opened fire, her family said.

Ms Kaur’s brother, Pail Singh, said: “She told me that a guy went crazy and she got shot.”

Tashi Wangchuk said his wife was in her nursing class when she heard gunshots. She locked the door and turned off the lights. The gunman “banged on the door several times and started shooting outside and left,” he said. Wangchuk said no-one was hurt inside his wife’s classroom, but the gunman shot out the glass in the door. He said she did not know the man.

Mr Goh fled from the school in a car that belonged to one of the victims, police said.

A security guard at a nearby supermarket approached the man because he was acting suspiciously. The man told the guard that he needed to talk to police because he shot people, and the guard called authorities.

Mr Goh is reportedly being held on suspicion of murder and is expected to be formally charged in court today.

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