Campus shooter identified as former UCLA doctoral student
By Madeleine Pauker
June 2, 2016 1:59 p.m.
A former doctoral student has been identified as the man who killed a UCLA professor on campus Wednesday.
Mainak Sarkar, a 38-year-old man who graduated from UCLA in 2013, drove from his home in Minnesota to Los Angeles to kill his former research adviser William Klug, police said. Sarkar killed Klug, who was an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, over an intellectual property dispute.
A blog post allegedly written by Sarkar in early March claimed Klug stole Sarkar’s code and gave it to another student.
“(Klug) is a very sick person,” the post said. “I urge every new student coming to UCLA to stay away from this guy.”
A suicide note found at the scene of Wednesday’s shooting led investigators to Sarkar’s Minnesota residence, where they found a list of several other people Sarkar aimed to kill. The list named Klug, one other UCLA professor and a Minnesota woman. Police found the Minnesota woman dead in her home.
Sarkar legally purchased semiautomatic pistols in Minnesota and carried them in his car to Los Angeles, police said. Authorities found more guns and ammunition in Sarkar’s home.
Police said Sarkar did not have a known history of mental illness. However, Sarkar’s professors had reservations about his behavior, said LAPD chief Charlie Beck.
Officials did not release the name of the other professor on the list.
