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UCLA Officials Knew About Stabbing Suspect Last Year

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An associate professor in UCLA's history department last year had concerns about the undergrad student suspected in last week's campus stabbing. E-mails from 20-year-old Damon Thompson to Stephen Frank indicated something was wrong.

"I believe I heard you, Professor Frank, say that I was 'troubled' and 'crazy' among other things," Thompson wrote after an exam in an e-mail. "My outrage at this situation coupled with the pressure of the very weighted examination dulled my concentration and detracted from my performance."

Frank, who shared the e-mails with the LA Times, said he was there for the test, along with teaching assistants, and there was nothing to support the complaints. Frank reported the issue to the Dean of Students, who said he had met with Thompson before about the issue. Other teachers corroborated this to Frank.

But UCLA officials say they could not do more than "suggest" treatment and beyond that, could not discuss the issue further due to federal privacy laws.

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