'Stay away from this sick guy': Indian UCLA shooter Mainak Sarkar had written about professor he killed

Los Angeles police on Thursday identified the gunman who killed a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, before taking his own life as Mainak Sarkar, an engineering student at the school. Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman Jane Kim confirmed that the gunman had been identified as Sarkar but declined to provide other details. Sarkar had been a doctoral candidate at the school, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing police.

In a deleted blog post on his WordPress site LongDarkTunnelblog, Sarkar wrote about Klug.

On March 10, the shooter was scathing in his criticism of Klug saying: “William Klug, UCLA professor is not the kind of person when you think of a professor. He is a very sick person. I urge every new student coming to UCLA to stay away from this guy… My name is Mainak Sarkar. I was this guy’s PhD student. We had personal differences. He cleverly stole all my code and gave it another student. He made me really sick. Your enemy is your enemy. But your friend can do a lot more harm. Be careful about whom you trust. Stay away from this sick guy.”

In his doctoral dissertation, submitted in 2013, Sarkar had expressed gratitude to Klug for his help and support, the paper said. "Thank you for being my mentor," he wrote. Before enrolling at UCLA, Sarkar earned a master's degree at Stanford University, according to his LinkedIn page. In 2000, he graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur with a degree in Aerospace Engineering. He also had a stint as a research assistant at the University of Texas and worked as a software developer. After UCLA, Sarkar worked remotely as an engineering analyst for an Ohio-based rubber company, Endurica LLC where he worked until August 2014.

The shooting prompted the sprawling urban campus to close for about two hours on Wednesday as police confirmed that Sarkar and his victim, 39-year-old engineering professor William Klug, were the only people involved in the incident. The Los Angeles coroner's office confirmed that Klug died in the attack.

University officials said classes would resume on Thursday and counselors will be available for students, faculty and staff. "Our hearts are heavy this evening as our campus family mourns the sudden and tragic deaths of two people on our campus earlier today," said Chancellor Gene Block in a statement. Klug was a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, according to the university's website. The Times reported that Klug was attempting to develop a computer-generated virtual heart.

"You cannot ask for a nicer, gentler, sweeter and more supportive guy than William Klug," professor Alan Garfinkel told the newspaper of his colleague. Engineering student Aaron Feigelman said he received a text message alerting him to the emergency on Wednesday and entered an adjacent building, where he and five others took refuge for 90 minutes. "We tied the bathroom door hinges with belts to keep the door closed because there were no locks. And we just waited. It was really scary," Feigelman said.

Some 200 police officers wearing bulletproof vests and helmets responded to several calls of shot fired, converging on the campus with rifles drawn, fearing the shooter might still be at large. Police recovered a gun and what may be a suicide note at the scene, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said.

UCLA, with more than 43,000 students, is one of the more well-regarded schools in the University of California system. "I am heartbroken by the sight of SWAT teams running down avenues normally filled with students, and angered by the fear that one person with a firearm can inflict on a community," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said.

With agency inputs