California campus attack was inspired by Islamic State: FBI

MERCED, Calif., March 18 (UPI) -- A college student who stabbed four people in November on the campus of the University of California, Merced, had viewed Islamic State propaganda prior to the attack, the FBI now says.

It is believed to be the fifth attack inspired by the Islamic State on U.S. soil since October, 2014.

Faisal Mohammad, 18, was killed by police after wielding a knife on his school campus. Police had originally characterized the attack as the work of a disgruntled student, angry he had been kicked out of a study group. The subsequent investigation has found Mohammad was in possession of terrorist propaganda on his laptop computer.

He was also carrying a photocopy of an Islamic State flag in his backpack at the time of the attack, the FBI said.

"Every indication is that Mohammad acted on his own; however, it may never be possible to definitively determine why he chose to attack people on the UC Merced campus," the FBI said in a statement.

No one was killed in the attack and the FBI says there is no evidence Mohammad conspired with members of the Islamic State prior to carrying out the stabbings. Mohammad stabbed two students and two school employees before campus police shot him to death.

The University of California, Merced, is located about 130 miles south of San Francisco.