Advertisement

UCLA gunman had 'kill list;' woman named in list found dead in Minnesota

By Shawn Price and Andrew V. Pestano
UCLA students walk off campus after classes were canceled Wednesday following was police described as a murder-suicide in Boelter Hall, which is part of the Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science in Los Angeles. The Westwood, Calif., campus was locked down for about two hours Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 5 | UCLA students walk off campus after classes were canceled Wednesday following was police described as a murder-suicide in Boelter Hall, which is part of the Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science in Los Angeles. The Westwood, Calif., campus was locked down for about two hours Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

LOS ANGELES, June 2 (UPI) -- Authorities on Thursday revealed Mainak Sarkar, the former UCLA doctoral student accused of killing his professor, had a "kill list" in which a second victim who was found dead was named.

The professor, William Klug, 39, was shot and killed in a small engineering office in UCLA on Wednesday before Sarkar killed himself, according to police.

Advertisement

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck told KLTA-TV in Los Angeles another professor was on that list.

"Professor Klug's name was on that list, as was another UCLA professor who was all right," Beck said.

A woman's name was also on the list. Investigators checked her Minnesota home, where she was found dead by a gunshot wound. Sarkar was a Minnesota resident.

Earlier on Thursday, Los Angeles police said Sarkar previously accused Klug of stealing his computer code.

On March 10, Sarkar posted a social media message in which he strongly criticized Klug.

"William Klug, UCLA professor is not the kind of person when you think of a professor. He is a very sick person. I urge every new student coming to UCLA to stay away from this guy," Sarkar wrote. "He made me really sick. Your enemy is my enemy. But your friend can do a lot more harm. Be careful about whom you trust."

Advertisement

The Los Angeles Times reported a university source said Sarkar's accusations were "absolutely untrue."

"The idea that somebody took his ideas is absolutely psychotic," the university source said.

Klug was an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. The shooting took place shortly before 10 a.m. Klug was married with two children and is described by staff and students as supportive and extremely bright.

"I am absolutely devastated," said fellow professor Alan Garfinkel, who worked with Klug to develop a computer-generated virtual heart. "You cannot ask for a nicer, gentler, sweeter and more supportive guy than William Klug."

Jeremy Peschard, a 22-year-old geography major, transferred to UCLA from University of California, Santa Barbara, where a student killed six people and injured 14 others near the campus in 2014.

"It's crazy to go through this again," said Peschard, who hid in a UCLA office as he relived the previous shooting. "It's sad that it's normalized at this point. It's like I almost know the drill."

Students told police and reporters they tied belts around doors and pushed tables up against doorways to barricade themselves from the shooter after the alert went out. As students and staff left the buildings, they were asked to put their hands on their heads. Some were asked to kneel down and be searched at gunpoint by police. Room by room searches were also carried out with police escorting some to the exits.

Advertisement

Police Chief Beck declared the campus safe at a noon press conference where he said the shooter was one of the two men dead.

Classes were canceled Wednesday and some, with the exception of engineering, will resume Thursday. Engineering classes are expected to resume on Monday. No other injuries were reported at the school.

Latest Headlines