2 dead in UCLA murder-suicide, including professor

Map | Reports from the scene

Late Wednesday night, the L.A. County Coroner's Office confirmed that engineering professor William Klug, 39, was one of two people killed in a murder-suicide on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles.

The name of the assailant has not yet been released, as their next of kin had not yet been notified, officials said.

"I'm not sure the status of the possible shooter, whether he's a past student or a current student," Coroner Assistant Chief Ed Winter told reporters earlier in the day.

Winter did say that the alleged shooter was in his 30s and was from out of state.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said authorities responded to a report of three shots fired at around 10 a.m. Wednesday and found two adult males dead at the scene. A gun was also found at the scene, he added, along with other evidence. That included a suicide note, Coroner Assistant Chief Winter later confirmed.

"At about 10 this morning, a homicide and suicide occurred," at the engineering building on campus, Beck said. "The method of suicide is gunshot wound, I won't go any further. The important thing for people to take away from this is that the campus is now safe."

Beck said there was no evidence to suggest other suspects were involved, but out of an abundance of caution authorities were clearing campus buildings. 

The victims were in a small office in the Engineering IV building.

Those on campus were told to shelter in place for several hours Wednesday. UCLA has confirmed the lockdown has been lifted, but all classes were canceled for the day.

UCLA Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Scott Waugh said classes will resume Thursday morning, and that the shooting would not impact the schedule for finals. Waugh later said that engineering classes will not resume until Monday.

They are looking to have a vigil at some time in the next couple of days, Waugh said. He said the school's goal is to heal the wounds of the students, faculty and staff distressed following the shooting and to make them feel comfortable before resuming their regular activities.

Counseling will be available to students and staff, Waugh said, with extended hours Wednesday night and over the next several days.

Waugh said the school planned to review safety procedures, including their alerts. He said they were troubled by reports of unlocked doors.

"We'll review the locks on the doors and any security issue that has arisen in the course of today. It's been a very complex affair," Waugh said.

The Engineering IV building was being investigated by the LAPD, though some floors were set to be released as of a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Waugh said.

UCLA police, LAPD and the FBI took part in the investigation and LAPD tactical teams worked with SWAT, LAPD Capt. Andrew Neiman told reporters.

People inside remain sheltered in place on Wednesday, June 1, 2016 following a murder-suicide on the University of California, Los Angeles campus.

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Engineering professor Jonathan P. Stewart was on campus when the shooting occurred.

"The police told us to get out — us being my department, civil engineering. So we got out of there in a hurry, and we've congregated in various places, you know, say a few hundred yards away from the engineering complex," Stewart told KPCC.

Stewart said he found out about the shooting from a police officer who came down the hallway outside of their suite with gun drawn.

At first they were told to shelter in place, but then they were told to get out, Stewart said.

"They just yelled 'Get out, now,' and we just left, so we weren't escorted," Stewart said.

Strathmore Plaza was closed to all vehicle and pedestrian traffic from Charles Young Drive West to Westwood Plaza during the investigation, according to a tweet from UCLA Transportation.

A shooting occurred at UCLA's campus Wednesday near the campus' engineering building, police said.

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Television news footage showed images of students being escorted from buildings by police.

Some students received the news of a shooting through email. Others, like Rachel Inoye first heard through the campus texting system.

She said the first alert was "Police activity in the engineering building." And then a little later at 10 a.m. came "shooting in the engineering building. Lock down now."

Campus officials said most students and faculty got the message in a timely manner. First year student Aidan Burke said information traveled a little too slow.

"I got news from my friends before the UC Bruin Alert," Burke said. "So that could’ve been a little faster."

From there, says student Albert Agha, some students were worried they could be targeted.

"We weren’t sure if there were gonna be guys like knocking on the door, you know. trying to shoot everybody," Agha said.

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This story has been updated.