UCLA engineering professor shot to death in apparent murder-suicide

Two men are dead afteran apparent murder-suicide Wednesday morning at the University of California, Los Angeles, in what the mayor called a "horrific event."

"Thankfully, the campus is now safe," Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement posted to Twitter. "But I am heartbroken by the sight of SWAT teams running down campus avenues normally filled with students, and angered by the fear that one person with a firearm can inflict on a community."

Mechanical engineering professor William S. Klug, 39, was gunned down in an engineering building office Wednesday morning, according to the official who has knowledge of the investigation but wasn't authorized to publicly discuss it.

The shooter has not yet been identified.

Colleagues of Klug's tell The Associated Press he was a married father of two and a kind, gentle person.

UCLA biology and chemistry Professor Charles Knobler said those who knew Klug are in shock. He described the professor as "a very lively, lovable, likable guy."

Peter Gianusso said Klug coached his 10-year-old son's baseball team and spent countless hours on the field with the boys and girls in the league.

"Today there's a hole in the heart of El Segundo Little League," Gianusso said. "They really can't believe it because Bill was one of the kindest, most light-hearted, quiet person that you'd ever meet. Just a great nice guy all around and to meet his death in such a tragic and horrific manner, is just shocking and unbelievable."

Gianusso said Klug had a younger daughter but did not know her age.

Renjie Li, a 21-year-old mechanical engineering junior at UCLA, said Klug was one of his favourite professors.

"He was smart, very patient," Li said. "When I took his class last year, I always went to his office hours and asked a bunch of questions, and he always answered with passion. He's very approachable."

2 hours of uncertainty

Campus police and LAPD responded around 10 a.m. PT to multiple reports of shots fired on campus.

Kara Leung, whose website says she is an IT student at UCLA, posted photos to Twitter showing police sweeping the halls of a campus building, which she did not identify for "officers' safety."

Police said "dozens of people" were in the building at the time and remained there while the 170-hectare campus was in lockdown for about two hours as officers combed the area in search of possible suspects. Around noon, LAPD said they believed the situation was "entirely contained."

"We believe there are no suspects outstanding and no continuing threat to UCLA's campus," police said at a news conference.

Engineering IV remained offlimits while police continued their search "out of an abundance of caution."

UCLA's campus newspaper, the Daily Bruin, tweeted a photo of students sitting on the floor of the Kerckhoff Coffee House after the school's emergency notification system called BruinAlert sent out messages advising everyone to stay away from the area or "shelter in place."

UCLA police Chief James Herren said FBI and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearmsagents were among the "hundreds" of officers who responded to the shooting.

Police were in the process of releasing students from lockdown "in an orderly fashion."

LAPD said in a statement earlier that officers locatedtwo males "suffering gunshot wounds." The identities of the men have not been released.

At one point, the Daily Bruin described a suspected shooter as a white male about six feet tall wearing a black jacket and black pants.

The investigation will be turned over to homicide detectives.

Classes were cancelled for the remainder of the day, but were expected to resume Thursday.

"We want to resume normal operations as quickly as possible," UCLA executive vice chancellor and provost Scott Waugh said at a news conference. "Faculty, staff and students should show up tomorrow and go through their regular routines and complete the quarter as planned."

The mayor commended everyone at UCLA for their "extraordinary grace and calm on a traumatic morning."

"This horrific event, at an institution dedicated to learning and mutual understanding, reminds us once again of the fragility of a peaceful society," Garcetti said.

The school, located on the west side of Los Angeles, is a flagship of theUniversity of California system, with about 43,000 students.