Student stabs psychology professor to death on California campus

A student has stabbed a psychology professor to death on the University of Southern California campus, Los Angeles police report. The incident was reportedly the result of a “personal dispute,” and not a random act, university authorities and police said.

The professor was found dead with several stab wounds in the campus’ Seeley G. Mudd building, Los Angeles Police Officer Meghan Aguilar said.

“We do believe this is not a random act and there is no concern for the safety of anyone on campus at this time," Aguilar added.

The student suspected of carrying out the attack has been arrested, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Drake Madison said, as cited by the local media. 

The victim was later identified as Bosco Tjan, the co-director of the Dornsife Cognitive Neuroimaging Center, who had worked at USC’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences since 2001. AP cited public records indicating that Tjan was 50 years old.

“As the Trojan family mourns Professor Tjan’s untimely passing, we will keep his family in our thoughts,” USC President C. L. Max Nikias said in a statement, adding “we encourage anyone in need of support to reach out to Student Counseling Services or the Center for Work and Family Life.”

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According to USC’s Department of Public Safety, the stabbing “was the result of a personal dispute.”

Chris Purington, project manager at Tjan’s lab, said that the professor had never had problems with anyone.

“He was somebody who really cared about people” Purington said as cited by AP, adding “he mentored people and he looked out for them. He spent a lot of time thinking about what it means to be a mentor and guide people.”

University of Southern California is one of the world’s leading private research universities with some 44,000 students, according to the university.