Mainak Sarkar, The Struggling PhD Scholar Who Turned UCLA Shooter

After pursued his PhD for 10 years, something pushed Mainak Sarkar over the edge.

An undated photo of Mainak Sarkar. (Photo: Facebook via AP)

A day after deadly gunshots were heard at the University of California (UCLA) campus in Los Angeles, the gunman was identified as Mainak Sarkar, a doctoral student of Indian-origin.

Sarkar had been pursuing his PhD for 10 years at UCLA. Born in India, he was an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, a premiere Indian institution. Before enrolling into UCLA, he earned a Master’s degree from Stanford University. His educational qualifications point to a highly qualified student, striving for an academic breakthrough for more than a decade.

But something pushed him over the edge.

Calm, Smart and Unassuming

That’s how Mainak was known at home in India by former teachers and classmates.

Gautam Biswas, taught Sarkar in the 9th and 10th grades of St. Michael’s School in Durgapur, West Bengal.

My initial reaction was one of shock and disbelief.

Gautam Biswas

He also went ton to say that Sarkar was intelligent and never gave indication of any abnormal behaviour.

“Mainak was a brilliant student. He remained busy with studies and did not talk or socialise much. As far as I remember, he was from Kolkata,” a professor of aerospace department of IIT-Kharagpur, told a reporter.

However, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said that UCLA faculty members were aware that Sarkar, who graduated in 2013, harboured a grudge against them.

There was some harsh language – but certainly nothing that would be considered homicidal.

Charlie Beck

A ‘Kill List’

In a fit of rage, Sarkar shot dead his engineering professor William Klug in his office on the university campus, before turning the gun on himself. A resident of Minnesota, Sarkar appeared to have had a long-running feud with Klug. He left a “kill list” in his home, which led authorities to also find a woman’s body, after they found her name on that list.

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told the Associated Press that the woman on the list was Ashley Hasti who married the gunman in 2011, documents show. Another UCLA professor whose name featured on the list is unharmed.

On the UCLA website, Sarkar was listed as part of the Klug Research Group, a team of six post-doctoral and PhD students researching biomechanics. The website shows Sarkar had been studying for his PhD since 2006 with no graduating date, two years longer than any of the other researchers.

In the US, he also had a stint as a research assistant at the University of Texas and worked as a software developer.

Stolen Code?

Klug was an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and had been the target of Sarkar’s anger on social media for months. On 10 March, in a blog posted under his name, Sarkar accused Klug of stealing his code.

William Klug is not the kind of person when you think of a professor (sic). He is a very sick person. I urge every new student coming to UCLA to stay away from this guy. 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.

Mainak Sarkar in a blogpost on 10 March

Condolence notes for the engineering professor who was shot and killed by a student at UCLA. (Photo: AP)

However, a source told the LA Times that Sarkar’s claims were “psychotic”, adding that his characterisation of Klug as a thief was “absolutely untrue”. The post, was uploaded to a blog called Long Dark Tunnel, but has since been deleted.

Klug earned his under-graduate degree in engineering physics from Westmont College in 1997, his Masters’ in civil engineering at UCLA in 1999 and his PhD in mechanical engineering from California Institute of Technology in 2003.

I am absolutely devastated. You cannot ask for a nicer, gentler, sweeter and more supportive guy than William Klug.

Alan Garfinkel, Professor of Integrative Biology and Physiology

Garfinkel, had worked with Klug to develop a computer-generated virtual heart.

Around 200 armed police and SWAT officers, FBI agents and firefighters were called to the campus as at least three shots rang out, fired inside the Engineering IV building on 1 June. The bodies of both men alongside a 9mm semi-automatic pistol were later found.

SWAT officers search students who were evacuated from the UCLA campus. (Photo: AP)

Also Read: IIT-ian Mainak Sarkar Identified as UCLA Shooter Who Killed a Prof

(With inputs from IANS and AP)