Oakland School Shooting Suspect Charged With 7 Counts of Murder
The alleged gunman who went on a Monday morning shooting spree at a private Christian university in Oakland, Calif., has been charged with seven counts of murder, all with special circumstances, and three counts of attempted murder, according to court documents released Wednesday.
The documents also show that the suspected gunman, 43-year-old former nursing student One L. Goh, admitted to police that he took a .45-caliber handgun and four fully loaded magazines of ammunition onto the Oikos University campus at roughly 10:40 a.m. Monday, killing a receptionist and six students.
Oakland city Police Chief Howard Jordan said in a press conference Tuesday that Goh allegedly killed his victims execution style. He began his rampage by taking a female receptionist hostage. The troubled ex-student was allegedly in search of a certain female administrator, as he was upset for being expelled from the university earlier that year.
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Reports indicate Goh then took the receptionist into a classroom, and told all of the students to line up against the wall, saying "I'm going to kill you all."
When some students refused to obey Goh's orders, he began shooting. He fled shortly after using a victim's vehicle, and was apprehended at a Safeway grocery store about three miles from Oikos University.
In a law enforcement statement read at Goh's arraignment at the Alameda County Superior Court on Wednesday, Goh reportedly admitted to the killings during a police interview held early Tuesday morning.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Judge Sandra K. Bean somberly read Goh's charges at Wednesday's hearing, as the alleged gunman sat in a red prison jumpsuit widely out of view from the court.
His seven murder charges and three counts of attempted murder were compounded by the use of a firearm, the taking of a hostage, the multiple counts, and the stealing of a car, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"On Monday, April 2, One Goh committed crimes of such enormity and brutality that our community, our country and citizens around the world are left reeling," Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley told reporters at a press conference after the arraignment, as reported by CBS News.
"The scope of this murderer's rampage is unprecedented in Alameda County," O'Malley said, telling reporters that her office is considering whether to seek the death penalty for Goh.
Goh did not enter a plea at Wednesday's arraignment, and will appear in court again on April 30.
The communities of Oakland and Oikos University are still in shock over Monday's attack. The small, private Christian university is home to about 100 students specializing in religious studies, music and vocational nursing with an emphasis on Korean students.
