We almost had another mass shooting at a university yesterday--this one at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. According to UCF officials and law enforcement, 30-year-old James Oliver Seevakumaran had stockpiled a mini-arsenal in his dorm room and was planning a massacre starting in his dorm. But lightning response by law enforcement resulted in Seevakumaran killing himself.
(Seevakumaran) was at the university from fall 2010 through fall 2012 but was not enrolled for the spring semester and was in the process of being removed from the dorm room where he lived.
"While the crime scene processing was under way in that room, we found some notes and some writings that indicated that this was a planned attack," UCF Police Chief Richard Beary told reporters.
He said Seevakumaran's plan appeared to be set in motion as early as February, when weapons and ammunition purchases were made. Seevakumaran developed an outline for the attack, but that never came to fruition, thanks in part to the rapid response of law enforcement, Beary said.
When police opened Seevakumaran's backpack, they found a pistol, an assault rifle, a couple hundred rounds of ammunition and four bombs that UCF police believe he made himself. In other words--this guy was planning a bloodbath.
Around 12:20 on Monday morning, Seevakumaran pulled a fire alarm, then ran to his room to pick up his weapons. He then pulled a gun on one of his roommates, but the roommate hid in a bathroom and called 911. Officers arrived in minutes and found Seevakumaran dead in his room. The residents of that dorm had to wait until Monday afternoon to return to their rooms.
Apparently this attack came from out of nowhere. Seevakumaran had never gotten in any kind of trouble in school, and his only encounter with police was a 2006 traffic arrest. He was, however, something of a loner with few friends.