A shooting rampage at a Korean Christian college in Oakland, California, left seven dead and three wounded Monday.
Police arrested One Goh, 43, a former student at Oikos University, for the execution-style shooting and questioned him Monday evening. Goh, who admitted his involvement, allegedly went to the college to confront a female administrator who was not there at the time. He then took a receptionist hostage and went into a classroom, where he shot the receptionist and ordered students to line up against the wall, Police Chief Howard Jordan told CNN. When some of them did not cooperate, Goh opened fire, Jordan said.
“This was a calculated, cold-blooded execution in the classroom,” Jordan said, adding that Goh “does not appear to be remorseful at all.” Police have not yet recovered Goh’s weapon.
Oikos University, which has programs for nursing, theology, music, and Asian medicine, caters to the Korean-American church. Its top institutional objectives are to “demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the Bible and an understanding of Christian doctrine” and “to develop an appreciation for the Korean and Korean-American church denomination heritage.”
Jongin Kim, president of the college, founded Oikos nearly a decade ago, the Associated Press reported. In a welcome message on the university’s website, Kim wrote, “Our main goal is to foster spiritual Christian leaders who abide by God’s intentions and to expand God’s nation through them. … Oikos University has rapidly grown in its quality and size to become an institution that contributes to and positively changes their surrounding environment—and the world in general.”
A similar message from Youngkyo Choi, chairman of the school’s Board of Directors, states that Oikos is “was established specifically to serve the community of Northern California in general and San Francisco and Oakland areas in particular.”
The New York Times reported that the church is affiliated with a nearby church, Praise God Korean Church, and is situated in an area with many Korean-American businesses.
Goh was a former nursing student; he had been expelled and was angry with administrators and students because they “were not treating him respectfully,” Jordan said.
CT will update this story as new information becomes available.
