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UCLA Professor Was Reportedly Killed by a Student 'Despondent About His Grades'

Engineering professor William Klug was shot in an apparent murder-suicide, but so far police have declined to elaborate on the circumstances of the incident.
Imagen por Patrick Fallon/Reuters

Authorities have identified the University of California, Los Angeles professor who was shot in an apparent murder-suicide on the school's campus on Thursday, and at least one report has cited police sources as saying he was gunned down by a student who was upset about receiving low marks.

William Klug, 39, was one of the men killed in the shooting in the school's engineering building on Wednesday, the Los Angeles coroner's office said.

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Los Angeles police said on Wednesday the gunman shot himself after fatally wounding another man, but declined to elaborate on the circumstances of the incident.

Claudia Peschiutta, an LA-based crime journalist, quoted unnamed law enforcement sources as saying the shooter was a student of Klug's who was "despondent about his grades." Andrew Blankstein, an NBC News reporter in LA, cited police sources as saying the shooter was an engineering graduate student who held a "grudge" against Klug, possibly because he believed the professor "misused" computer code created by the student.

Related: Police Say Two Dead After Apparent Murder-Suicide on UCLA Campus

Police recovered what may turn out to be a suicide note and a gun at the scene, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said.

University officials said most classes would resume on Thursday and counselors will be available for students, faculty and staff. UCLA has reportedly cancelled all engineering classes for the rest of the week.

"Our hearts are heavy this evening as our campus family mourns the sudden and tragic deaths of two people on our campus earlier today," said Chancellor Gene Block in a statement.

Klug was a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, according to the university's website. A specialist in computational mechanics, Klug received his Ph.D from Caltech in 2003, and his master of science degree from UCLA in 1999. He was reportedly married and a father of two. The Los Angeles Times reported that Klug was attempting to develop a computer-generated virtual heart.

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His name was William Klug. The world is a little worse off today. — Matt Blaine (@chillblaine)June 2, 2016

"You cannot ask for a nicer, gentler, sweeter and more supportive guy than William Klug," professor Alan Garfinkel told the newspaper of his colleague.

The coroner's office declined to identify the other man involved in the shooting. The incident caused the large campus to be locked down for about two hours as students were told to shelter in place.

Engineering student Aaron Feigelman said he received a text message alerting him to an emergency and entered an adjacent building, where he and five others took refuge for 90 minutes.

Related: America Started the Summer Off with a Massive Wave of Gun Violence

"We tied the bathroom door hinges with belts to keep the door closed because there were no locks. And we just waited. It was really scary," Feigelman said.

Some 200 police officers wearing bulletproof vests and helmets responded to several calls of shot fired, converging on the campus with rifles drawn, fearing the shooter might still be active.

UCLA, attended by more than 43,000 students, is in the Westwood section of Los Angeles and is one of the more well-regarded schools in the University of California system.

"I am heartbroken by the sight of SWAT teams running down avenues normally filled with students, and angered by the fear that one person with a firearm can inflict on a community," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said.

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