Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan held an early-morning press conference during which he said that One Goh, the suspect in Monday’s Oikos University massacre, was seeking revenge against students and administrators. Jordan said Goh “felt he had been mistreated and disrespected” because of his limited English skills.
Separately, a memorial for the victims has been scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight at Allen Temple Baptist Church in East Oakland.
From the San Francisco Chronicle’s summary of Jordan’s press conference:
One Goh, 43, of Oakland told police that he “came here with the intent of locating an administrator,” months after he had been expelled for behavioral problems, Police Chief Howard Jordan said at a news conference outside Oikos University, the site of Monday’s shooting, one of the deadliest campus attacks in California history.
But the woman, whose name wasn’t released, wasn’t there at the time, and “he then went through the entire building, systematically and randomly shooting the victims,” carrying out a rampage had had planned several weeks earlier, the chief said.
Among the seven killed were six women – including a secretary who police say was taken as a hostage by Goh near the front of the school early on – and a man. The dead were from several countries, including Korea, Nigeria, Nepal and the Philippines and ranged in age from 21 to 40, Jordan said.
“This is a multi-lingual school that caters to many students from foreign countries,” the chief said.
From the Oakland Tribune:
Jordan said police believe the suspect stopped shooting and fled because he heard people calling 911. “We don’t believe suspect intended to have a confrontation with the police so he left after he finished shooting,” Jordan said.
About 35 people had been in or near the school at the time of the shooting, Jordan said. School officials quickly gave police the gunman’s name, photo and home address, to which officers were on their way when One Goh turned himself in at the Alameda supermarket within an hour of the shooting. Bhutia’s car was towed from there.
The suspect told investigators that he wound up in Alameda because he “just wanted to get away from the area,” Jordan said.
“He’s been very cooperative with us,” Jordan said Tuesday. “He hasn’t been particularly remorseful.”