Los Angeles: The investigation into a murder-suicide on the UCLA campus took a more sinister turn Thursday when police announced they suspected the shooter earlier killed a woman in Minnesota, then drove to Los Angeles to confront one of his professors who he believed had stolen his work.
Mainak Sarkar, 38, had a "kill list" with at least three names that included professor Bill Klug, the woman found dead in a Minneapolis suburb and a second UCLA professor who was not harmed, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said.
Sarkar shot and killed Klug in a UCLA engineering building Wednesday, leading to a lockdown on the campus that has 60,000 or more students and staff on it. He then fatally shot himself.
Sarkar drove to Los Angeles from Minnesota with two guns and ammunition before he killed Klug. He left a note behind telling authorities to check on his cat at his home in Minnesota, Beck said during his monthly appearance on Los Angeles TV station KTLA.
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The note led them to a nearby home, where they found the woman shot dead. She was not identified and authorities didn't release how Sarkar knew her.
Beck said it appeared mental issues were involved and that Sarkar's dispute with Klug was tied to Sarkar thinking the professor released intellectual property that harmed Sarkar.
A blog post written in March by someone identifying himself as Sarkar said he had personal differences with Klug.
"He cleverly stole all my code and gave it (to) another student," the post says. "He made me really sick."
The blog continues: "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."
Beck said UCLA asserts it was all in Sarkar's imagination.
Sarkar is listed on a UCLA website as a member of a computational biomechanics research group run by Klug, a professor of mechanical engineering.
Police were working Thursday to find the car Sarkar drove to Los Angeles and sought the public's help.
