Oakland: An administrator at a small Christian university where seven people were killed this week said Wednesday she was the alleged gunman`s primary intended target after she rejected his repeated requests for a refund of his tuition.
Ellen Cervellon, director of the nursing program at Oikos University, said she wasn`t on campus Monday when her former student, One Goh, came looking for her then went on his rampage.
Two days later, in an interview with a news agency, a shaken Cervellon said the slayings are haunting her.
"I have that weight on my shoulders and I don`t know what to do with it," she said, her voice quavering. "Every single one of those students were going to be an excellent, excellent nurse. They`re in my heart, and they always will be."
Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan confirmed Cervellon was the apparent target. Officer Johnna Watson, a police spokeswoman, said later that police are looking into the possibility that other administrators had been targeted.
Goh, 43, was charged on Wednesday with seven counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder, plus a special circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders that could make him eligible for the death penalty.
Shackled and showing little emotion, Goh said nothing during a brief court appearance other than a soft "yes" when the judge asked if he understood the charges. He did not enter a plea.
In a police affidavit, Officer Robert Trevino said Goh acknowledged going to Oikos on Monday with a .45-caliber handgun and four magazines of ammunition.
"He admitted to kidnapping a woman and forcing her from her office into a classroom at gunpoint," Trevino said in the statement. "He admitted to shooting and killing several people inside the classroom, before taking one of the victim`s car keys and fleeing the scene in the victim`s car.
Bureau Report
