Oakland Shooting Suspect Targeted School Administrator to 'Settle Score,' Say Police
One L. Goh, the man accused of going on a shooting rampage at a small Christian university in Oakland, Calif., was attempting to "settle a score" with a female school administrator when he carried out the fatal attack on Monday morning, according to police officials.
The South Korean national, who had been a nursing student at the university, told investigators that he was upset over his recent expulsion from the school for behavioral problems and anger management. He also claimed that he was distraught for having been teased by other students for his strong Korean accent.
He had also recently lost two close family members and had large debts, according to various reports.
"We do know that he was upset at administrators at the school. We do know he was upset with several students here because of the way he was treated when he was enrolled here two months ago," Oakland Police chief Howard Jordan said to reporters on Tuesday.
"They disrespected him, laughed at him. They made fun of his lack of English speaking skills. It made him feel isolated compared to other students."
Police said that Goh went to the school looking for the female administrator and when he learned she was not there he began shooting.
Six students and a secretary at Oikos University were shot dead at point blank range execution style just after 10:30 a.m. Monday. A total of 10 people were shot in the shooting spree.
"We don't believe any of the victims were the ones that teased him," Jordan added. "We believed he stopped (shooting) because people were able to use the phone. He could have heard people calling 911."
The suspect left the school grounds and surrendered at a nearby grocery store.