Seven dead in shooting at California university; suspect arrested in Alameda

OAKLAND -- Witnesses described a panicked scene after a shooting suspect opened fire in a classroom at an East Oakland private university Monday morning, killing at seven people and wounding three more.

Police said a suspect had been arrested at Alameda's South Shore Center, outside the Safeway store, where he apparently asked store employees to be arrested.

Lisa Resler, 41, said she was leaving the Alameda store with her daughter when she saw a young Asian man with a beanie being confronted by store security. She described him as being "very sedated" as he was handcuffed and taken away.

Two Safeway employees who did not give their names said the suspect had told a customer service staffers that he had shot people and needed to be arrested.

After the shooting, which erupted at 10:23 a.m., people fled the school building, located in business park area near the Oakland airport.

Some of the wounded were treated at the scene by emergency crews, others taken away by ambulances and at least four of the dead were covered with tarps on a grassy area near the school. Other students and staff of the school were evacuated by SWAT officers from the building at 7850 Edgewater Drive after the shooting.

Some witnesses outside the school when it happened said that a victim who had fled the building told them the shooter was in the classroom, stood up and shot another student in the chest, and then opened fire on the rest of the classroom.

Students and teachers throughout the building heard the shots, said Lucas Garcia, who has taught English at Oikos for three years.

"We heard many gunshots," he said. "Everybody was scared, obviously."

Students panicked and ran from the building when the shooting started, said Nam Gong Kyun, a 52-year-old English student from Korea.

The school offers degrees in religious, musical and nursing fields, according to its website.

Pastor Jong Kim, who founded the school about 10 years ago, said the shooter had previously been a nursing student at Oikos but was no longer enrolled. He was unsure whether the shooter had been expelled or dropped out voluntarily.

Kim did not see the shooting but heard about 30 gunshots. "I stayed in my office," he said, imitating the sound of rapid shots.

A man who requested anonymity who works in information technology for the Superior Court of California, with offices just across from the shooting scene, said, "A few people inside (our building) heard shots, and then there was a huge crowd outside."

About 100 people -- most of them media, but also family members of students -- remained outside the school Monday afternoon.

Among them was Timothy Yi, pastor of Hayward Korean Baptist church, who arrived there with the father of a student who was still inside the building.

Yi said no one had been able to reach the student, Lydia Sim, 21, although her father had been escorted inside.

"He doesn't know if his daughter is OK," Yi said. Phone calls to her cell phone were not answered. "I just want to know if she's safe or not," Yi said.

The pastor was shocked by the shooting, as the school as a reputation as a religious school. "They just study Bible and nursing," he said.

Check back for updates.



http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland-tribune/ci_20308254/police-respond-shooting-east-oakland