The academic world lost a gifted member in the murder of UCLA professor William Klug, who was gunned down by a former student Mainak Sarkar, 38. Sarkar is a former doctoral student that Klug mentored and was upset about his grades, according to police. Sarkar left what is described as a “kill list” that led police to the body of a Minnesota woman who was gunned down in her home. The list included another professor’s name, but thankfully that professor was not hurt.
Sarkar shot Klug multiple times in the UCLA Engineering Building 4 and Sarkar then took his own life. Sarkar reportedly left a note that asked someone to “check on my cat.”
In addition to his gripe over grades, Sarkar reportedly believed that Klug had taken his computer code and gave it to someone else. Sarkar had been attacking Klug for months on social media and described him as a “very sick person” who could not be trusted.
He drove from Minnesota where he has obtained the two guns legally. They then carried a backpack, two semiautomatic pistols and extra magazines to Klug’s fourth-floor office.
Klug, 39, was an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. He had taken special efforts to help and mentor Sarkar, who was not a stellar student.
Before coming to UCLA, Sarkar earned a master’s degree at Stanford University following an undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur. Sarkar also worked as a research assistant at the University of Texas and worked as a software developer and remotely as an engineering analyst for an Ohio-based rubber company, Endurica LLC.
Klug’s bio shows that he graduated with a B.S., Westmont College from in 1998; a
M.S. from UCLA in 1999 and his Ph.D. from Caltech in 2003 . He had an impressive list of publications. His interests were explained as “theoretical and computational biomechanics. In particular, we are developing continuum and multiscale methods to understand the mechanics of biological structures from the molecular and cellular scales upward.” His wife, Mary Elise Richter Klug, is also an engineer and graduated from Westmont in 1997.
The couple has two children and Klug was the coach on his son’s little league team. There is a Go Fund Me site set up for the family in the memory of this gifted academic and loving father.
The shooting is obviously a reminder of the risks for academics in dealing with a great variety of students with differing mental or emotional issues. It is one of the reasons why most academics favor gun-free zones on campuses. However, if we are to be honest, such a rule would not have prevented this tragedy unless every building is equipped with metal detectors and security gates. Someone hellbent to commit murder like Sarkar is not going to be thwarted by the fact that guns are not allowed on campus any more than he was not thwarted by murder being illegal.
Let me repost a source: Maniak Darkar was muslim.
http://www.weaselzippers.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Screen-Shot-2016-06-02-at-10.54.59-AM.png
@Andrea Olmanson ~>
“No doubt that if/when the perp is ID’d and charged, they’ll only under-charge him with robbery and assault”
You cannot assume that the perp is white or American, you assumed it. I go by facts, not assumptions, which you make a lot of. . . Including accusing me of insinuating you lied.
You came to that conclusion on your own, just like assuming your sons shooter was white and American.
No apology necessary, your claim would be considered conjecture and not facts and would not be admitted in a court. You’re being racist to assume the guy is white and American by a voice your sons wife told you about.
Maniak Sarkar was muslim. Please read the comments above that were sourced, more than one.
Lisa N, his sister-in-law states categorically that he was not a Muslim. Here is the link:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sister-ashley-hasti-wife-of-ucla-shooter-mainak-sarkar-could-do-anything-she-dreamed-of/
How about an apology, Lisa N? You falsely insinuated that I was lying (I wasn’t and had to explain that to you since you evidently are unable to comprehend things such as victims being able to articulate the appearance and accent of an attacker).
Also with regard to indoor ranges, most are located in larger cities and some of their customers are worryingly inept at handling firearms safely. These individuals have not experienced firearms use until late in life and did not have parents, military, or friends teach them when they were young to develop proper habits. Plus, yuppie type indoor ranges have people who only occasionally shoot and aren’t very good at it.
A good rule of thumb to judge if an indoor range is worth considering is to go there during the busy times and notice the kinds of vehicles in the parking lot.
If it is mostly older pickup trucks with gun racks and cars with Smith & Wesson, NRA, and Bass Pro bumper-stickers, it is most likely to be a safe gun range.
If the range has new Lexus, BMW, and Toyota Priuses parked outside and features an espresso bar inside keep driving and don’t look back.
As I’ve asked before, Why would someone be deterred by a misdemeanor gun-free-zone violation when they are willing to risk a possibly death penalty by going on a killing spree? It’s absurd. But, too many politicians are convinced otherwise since they often legislate by emotion rather than reason.
As for a safer bullet, I propose that the industry work on removing lead and depleted uranium from ammunition. Those are known carcinogenic and mutagenic elements that have adverse environmental impact. This is one of the reasons I do not like indoor pistol ranges. There can be considerable lead traces in the air. Some have reportedly good ventilation systems but I still have concerns. Depleted Uranium? Well, that’s quite self-evident.
Lisa N, my comment here in no way conflicts with my prior comment. The specific identity of the perp who shot my son remains unknown. However, his accent (from the words that he spoke during the robbery, and then immediately before shooting my kid) would indicate by all accounts that he was an American. He was a white guy. We don’t know his specific identity, but from the event itself we know what the guy looked and sounded like. Use your reasoning ability, please.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-la-mainak-sarkar-ucla-shooter-20160602-snap-story.html
“Sarkar had struggled with severe mental problems, including depression and an inability to study, which compromised his work at UCLA, the source said.”
Over and over again, it’s the same story:
Problem: Mental Illness and a series of red flags
Solution: Disarm law abiding people and do nothing about the mental health system
Problem: An ex killed the woman he could no longer have
Solution: Disarm women to make them even more vulnerable
???
Our mental health system is broken and needs to be fixed. If he struggled with “severe mental problems” then why wasn’t that reported to the instant database, which is supposed to screen out the mentally ill? Perhaps we could focus our efforts on our mental health as well as reporting to the database.
Karen writes, “Problem: An ex killed the woman he could no longer have
Solution: Disarm women to make them even more vulnerable.”
This and former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders’ call for “safer guns and safer bullets” will certainly make people more secure.
Steve – what is a ‘safer bullet’?
Paul, only Joycelyn Elders knows. My guess is that Underwood 10mm 135gr is probably the safest, especially out of one of those Mech Tech uppers and a Glock 20 lower. 2000 fps and 1200 ft-lbs at the muzzle. But what do I know – I’m a bottom-feeding progressive.
By the way, Joycelyn and I are alumni of the same university and have our names written into the cement sidewalks (along with thousands of others since that tradition started). Hers is on the other side of campus. (I think she graduated around the same time I was born.)
Steve – I don’t think anyone knows. Even those damn paintballs hurt.
That’s exactly the point. Gun Free Zones only cause law abiding citizens to leave their firearms outside. Obviously, a criminal or insane person not only will ignore the rule, but he will know with certainty that everyone inside is unarmed. A gun free zone is only effective if, as has been pointed out above, it is actually enforced with metal detectors and armed guards.
A more effective deterrent would be a sign that reads, “Armed Marshals Posted Throughout This Campus.”
Shooters tend to choose soft targets. The answer is not to soften up more targets to give them more choices, but rather to harden them up.
Funny how they never shoot up gun practice ranges, gun shows, libertarian conventions in state with will-issue laws, or police stations.
Could there be a correlation between the venue’s gun prohibitions, and the propensity of the crazed mass murders to shoot people in such venues?
Progressives will have you believe there is no such deterrent.
Andrea Olmanson said;
“The shooter certainly appeared to be a white guy who by all appearances grew up in the States, based on his appearance and lack of accent.”
~> You previously posted the same story but you did not identify who the shooter was. So how do you know he was white with no accent now, if he hasn’t been caught or charged?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Andrea Lea Olmanson
1, September 23, 2014 at 11:15 am
I’m not surprised about the under-charging in this case. On Sunday, September 14, 2014, my wonderful, funny, sweet 22YO son was shot in the head in the Georgetown district of Seattle, after being robbed of his cell phone, and everything in his backpack (including his laptop). The last thing that the main perp said before shooting my son in the face with a .22 was “f-ck it” as though his attempt to murder my child was just an afterthought.
Miraculously, the bullet missed my son’s brain, exiting at the bottom of the back of his head.
The Seattle police erroneously concluded that he had “just” been pistol-whipped and that’s what their blotter report stated. At the scene of the crime, the officers who initially searched only found $34 in cash, a tag that had been ripped from my son’s backpack, and an *unspent* .22 round. When I called the Seattle PD to inquire as to the case of my son being shot in the head at point-blank range, someone in the homicide division pulled up the report on the screen and erroneously related to me that he’d only been pistol-whipped, and that a gun may have gone off, but not shot my son.
My son had given medical personnel permission to discuss his injuries and treatment with me, and the nurse at Harbor View confirmed that yes, my son was shot in the head, and that the bullet had nicked his spine.
So I related that to the Seattle PD, and then (three days after the robbery and attempted murder) a detective went back and re-searched the area. This time, he found a *spent* .22 round in some bushes that the police had missed the first time.
The case is still in their robbery division, not homicide division. The Seattle Police Department still has not corrected its blotter report and it’s still down as merely a pistol-whipping, not an attempted murder.
No doubt that if/when the perp is ID’d and charged, they’ll only under-charge him with robbery and assault or whatever it’s called there, rather than the more appropriate attempted 2nd degree intentional homicide.
One would have thought that with Washington’s legalization of marijuana possession there would be more time/resources for law enforcement to conduct competent investigations into an attempted homicide. While I’m pleased that a competent detective is assigned to the case, it’s astounding that for three days there was an erroneous conclusion that there was no shooting. I’m not at all surprised about under-charging in Seattle…
@andrea olmanson ~> He was a Muslim, look it up.
Source your claim.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-olmanson-9862b765
Paul: My favorite teacher-student violence story is about a teacher in the Middle East:
~: Knock, knock.
#: Who’s there?
~: Jesus. Let me in.
#: Why should I let you in?
~: Because of what I’ll do to you if you don’t let me in.
It’s so reminiscent of the Establishment.
The blog post is about a tragedy because of mental disorder, and it is clearly an effect of the extent to which crony capitalism has driven academic competition.
As for guns, I like mine, and both of Hillary Clinton and that Republican moron she’s running against make me like them even more as both of these two-faced frontrunners have indicated they’ll violate the Bill of Rights at will. A loaded chamber indicator and a magazine disconnect, as are currently being offered as part of smart-gun legislation in this state, would have saved Prof. Klug?
I hope I’ve satisfied my daily requirement of criticizing everything from religion to the Establishment.
Have a great day!
My prayers for the family. JT said what I have said many times. Gun free zones w/o strict controls, including metal detectors, are really just target rich environments for sh!tbirds like this guy.
Ex-girlfriend, not wife.
“You’re deluding yourselves if you think that this incident has anything to do with immigration policy”
Wrong.
http://heyjackass.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/race_2014.png
“Mainak Sarkar was an Indian student, not a Muslim.”
Wrong. he was a Muslim.
He killed his wife in Minnesota before going to CA to kill the teacher.
http://www.weaselzippers.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Screen-Shot-2016-06-02-at-10.54.59-AM.png
Having taken a gun away from a student in class and having broken up fights, I can attest to how tough it can be to teach is some areas. However, UCLA is not one of them.
My favorite teacher-student violence story is about a teacher in France tutoring a student in Latin to help him through Casear’s Commentaries. After much tutoring the kid is still not getting it and in frustration the teacher beats him to death with a bust of Casear.
My son was shot in the head at point-blank range on September 14, 2014, by a white guy, a native English speaker, who robbed him first and then said “f*ck it,” before pulling the trigger and sending a .22 round into his face and out the back of the head. The shooter certainly appeared to be a white guy who by all appearances grew up in the States, based on his appearance and lack of accent. No evidence that the man who shot my child in the head was a Muslim. And he wasn’t in a gun-free zone.
You’re deluding yourselves if you think that this incident has anything to do with immigration policy; the shooter came here legally as a student, just as hundreds of thousands do safely every year.
Also, use your brain, please, Lisa N. Mainak Sarkar was an Indian student, not a Muslim. A wall is not going to stop foreign students from obtaining visas and coming here. And he brought the damn gun legally in Minnesota.
Illegal + Gun free zone + Muslim = Why 11 million Americans voted for Donald Trump.
Build the wall and keep out the terrorists – rapists – drug dealers please!!!
This story and San Jose protesters prove Trump is right.
Mister Trump. Build up that Wall.
so is this about guns, student visas, or mental illness?