One L. Goh

Case record: One L. Goh — Oikos University shooting

Background

One L. Goh was 43 years old at the time of the Oikos University shooting. He was a former student of the Korean Christian college Oikos University in Oakland, California, United States. He had disciplinary problems while at Oikos University and was asked to leave the school a few months prior to the shooting.

Goh followed his parents and two older brothers to the United States at a young age and later naturalized as a U.S. citizen. When he arrived in the United States, he first resided in Springfield, a community in Fairfax County, Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C., and then moved to Hayes, in rural southwest Virginia. In Virginia, he had minor traffic citations and debts.

In February 2002, he changed his name from Su Nam Ko because he felt his birth name sounded "like a girl’s name." He later moved from Virginia to the San Francisco Bay Area, taking up residence in Castro Valley and in Oakland. His mother, Oak-Chul Kim, lived in Oakland. His brother Su-Wan Ko, an administrative non-commissioned officer in the United States Army, and another brother Su-Kwon remained in Virginia.

Su-Wan was killed in an automobile accident in Virginia on March 8, 2011 while on assignment for the George C. Marshall Center. Later in 2011, his mother returned to Seoul, South Korea, where she died as well.

While living in the Bay area, he had a history of debts and minor legal issues. Police described him as having mounting debt and tax liens totalling $23,000 in 2006 and 2009. He had been evicted from an apartment complex after owing $1,300 in overdue rent. In Virginia, he had minor traffic citations.

In interviews and later during court proceedings, Goh was described as having paranoid schizophrenia. He refused medication while in jail. One of his lawyers said he saw faces in mirrors and experienced delusions regarding "the battle between God and Satan and his role in that battle." The law-related proceedings also included competency evaluations and findings of unfitness to stand trial.

The offence

On April 2, 2012, a gunman opened fire at people inside Oikos University, a Korean Christian college in Oakland, California, United States. The shooting occurred at approximately 10:30 am Pacific Daylight Time.

The gunman fired a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun with four fully loaded 10-round magazines. The suspected gunman stood up in a nursing classroom while class was in session, ordered classmates to line up against the wall, and fired at them. A witness reported that the gunman said: "Get in line ... I'm going to kill you all!" before opening fire.

Within a few hours, the number of reported fatalities reached seven. Seven were reported dead, and three others were injured.

After the initial firing, the attacker continued shooting as he fled the campus. He drove away in a car belonging to one of the victims.

Goh left the school at 10:32 a.m., stealing Bhutia's Honda, and drove about five miles to the South Shore Shopping Center in Alameda. He gave himself up in a Safeway after calling his father, who told him to surrender to police.

The indictment and charging narrative reflected seven counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. Additional alleged conduct was described in relation to carjacking and kidnapping. The kidnapping charge was because he brought the secretary from the reception area into the classroom where he shot her, and the carjacking stemmed from his decision to take the male victim's car and flee the scene. The male victim was identified as Tshering Rinzing Bhutia, who studied nursing and worked part-time as a janitor.

Investigation

Emergency services first received a call at 10.33am (5.33pm GMT) reporting a woman on the ground bleeding. As more calls came in from the school, the first arriving officer found a victim suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound.

Police officers formed a perimeter around the school in the belief that the suspect was still inside. SWAT teams surrounded the building, smashing glass with sledgehammers before rushing inside to find the gunman had fled.

Oakland police officers involved in the arrest included Robert Trevino and Steve Bang, who read Goh his Miranda rights. Before or during the surrender interaction, Goh blurted out: "I think I killed four people," according to Trevino’s testimony.

After being read his rights, Goh allegedly told police he had a plan "to kill Wonja Kim, who had been Oikos' assistant director of nursing, and then take his own life." Trevino testified that Goh had thought that the assistant director "let people harass him, and that somehow she led these people to hate him."

Before investigators, Goh’s statements included a remark attributed to him: "it wasn't anyone's fault" that he hadn't gotten the refund, but "they should have taken him more serious." Trevino testified that Goh told investigators, "I killed one, why not two?" Trevino also testified that Goh called the teacher of the nursing class "Ms. Laura" and described her as "a very nice lady." Goh’s conduct toward the teacher was described through Trevino’s testimony that the teacher hid under her desk, and that Goh told Trevino and Bang he felt bad that she had to see what was going on.

Goh’s gun, which police said he had bought at least two months earlier, was found several days later discarded in a saltwater channel near Oikos. Three empty magazines were found nearby in the muck.

Arrest and surrender

Goh surrendered after leaving the school. He stole Bhutia's Honda, drove about five miles to the South Shore Shopping Center in Alameda, and gave himself up in a Safeway after calling his father, who told him to surrender to police.

Before or during the arrest process, Oakland investigators Robert Trevino and Steve Bang read him his Miranda rights. A statement attributed to Trevino’s testimony included: "I think I killed four people." Afterward, Goh allegedly described a plan regarding Wonja Kim and spoke about being harassed.

There was also testimony that Goh told officers he chose to drive to the Safeway because 'just wanted to get away from the area' as soon as he heard people calling 911. A security guard approached him at the supermarket after seeing him acting suspiciously and called authorities.

Witness accounts described Goh as being dressed in khaki. One Safeway shopper, Lisa Resler, said: "He was just in the store looking like somebody who was going to pick a deli sandwich up or something," and later: "He didn't look like he had sign of relief on him. He didn't look like he had much of any emotion on his face," and: "From what I could see he was completely cooperative with police. He wasn't saying a word."

Trial

Hearings and competency

Goh was arraigned before Judge Sandra Bean of the Alameda County Superior Court on April 4 and charged with seven counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder; he did not enter a plea at the time.

On April 30, he appeared again before Judge Bean and entered a not guilty plea through his public defender David Klaus.

If convicted, Goh would have been eligible for the death penalty under California law due to enhanced penalties for special circumstances that could apply, including multiple murders and murder during a carjacking.

Goh’s pre-trial hearing was originally scheduled for June 30. It was held on October 1 before Judge Carrie Panetta. Klaus argued that Goh was not mentally competent to stand trial. Panetta ordered that the hearing be adjourned until November 16 for a competency evaluation.

Goh used the services of a Korean interpreter during the hearing and briefly disrupted proceedings with an outburst when Klaus began speaking about Goh’s mental competence. Two psychiatrists were appointed to evaluate Goh.

The hearing resumed on November 19 to discuss the report of the first psychiatrist, completed on schedule. According to Klaus’ statements, the first report concluded that Goh had suffered from paranoid schizophrenia for up to a decade and a half and that he lacked the ability to cooperate with his public defender due to his incomprehension of the criminal justice system. The second psychiatrist’s report was not yet complete, so proceedings were suspended until January 7, 2013.

Goh refused medication while in jail. At the January 7, 2013 hearing, the second psychiatrist’s report also concluded that Goh suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. On that basis, Panetta ruled that Goh was unfit to stand trial and ordered that he be confined to a mental institution for treatment, with further competency reviews scheduled every ninety days. An additional hearing was scheduled for January 28, 2013.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley had not yet concluded whether she would seek the death penalty for Goh if and when he went to trial.

In interviews, Goh apologized for the shooting, stating that he did not remember many parts of the day in question and that it was difficult for him to speak about it. He was hospitalized and began refusing to eat. Three weeks after his arrest, county sheriffs considered obtaining a court order to have him fed forcibly through a feeding tube. He later resumed eating and had lost 20 pounds (9.1 kg).

Victims

Seven people were killed and three others were injured.

The killed victims were:

• Tshering Rinzing Bhutia, 38
• Doris Chibuko, 40
• Sonam Chodon, 33
• Grace Eunhae Kim, 23
• Katleen Ping, 24
• Judith Seymour, 53
• Lydia Sim, 21

The injured were:

• Dawinder Kaur, 19
• Grace Kirika, 43
• Ahmad Javid Sayeed, 36

Other details

Goh was sometimes reported as One Goh Ko or One Ko Goh. He was 43 at the time of the shooting.

A witness testimony described Goh’s appearance as he entered the classroom: Goh was dressed in a baseball cap, a blue jacket and khaki pants.

One account described that a rear door swung open and a former classmate burst through. The gunman clamped one arm around the school's receptionist and held a pistol, and then ordered: "Everybody to the front of the class," ordered the gunman, with nobody moving. Goh then shouted: "You guys think I'm f- joking?"

The events included descriptions of multiple locations inside the building and the rapid sequence of violence. Officers heard a "very faint, almost moaning, or calling out basically for help" from Ping. Ping was shot in the stomach; Oakland schools officers wheeled her outside and she was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Dispatcher Jean Pannell testified about an initial 911 call, saying: "Gunshots. Shots coming in from outside the building. People are running out screaming," referring to a call she took over 911.

Officer Richard Niven testified about finding Chibuko lying face down in a pool of blood, giving chest compressions for 10 minutes, and escorting three women out. Niven testified that one woman told him, "He's shooting. He's reloading and he's shooting."

The grand jury heard testimony over two days from 14 witnesses before indicting Goh on seven counts of murder, and the case was described as suspended since January 2013, with it remaining unclear whether it would ever go to trial.

A nursing student witness, Grace Kirika, said: "He just shot her, and we all - everybody started running," and also said Ping staggered back to her office and called 911. Kirika recalled that others, including 40-year-old Doris Chibuko—described as a native of Nigeria and a mother of three whom she had pushed out of the room—were not as lucky.

Another witness, Dawinder Kaur, said she told her brother she was in her nursing class when a former student instructed them all to line up against the wall. A statement attributed to Sgt. Michael Reilly included that officers heard a faint moaning or calling out for help.

There were reported details about the shooter stealing the Honda from Bhutia. The pistol had eight rounds in its 10-round magazine and one in the chamber.

Family and community reactions included Governor Jerry Brown’s statement: "The tragic loss of life at Oikos University today is shocking and sad. 'Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families and friends and the entire community affected by this senseless act of violence.'" U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer’s statement included: "I am praying for a full and speedy recovery for all those injured in today's shooting." Mayor Jean Quan called it a 'terrible tragedy' but praised police for their response to the incident.

Founder and head of school Pastor Jong Kim was quoted as saying: "He would not say if the man had been expelled or dropped out of the nursing programme." Another statement attributed to him included his belief that there were about 30 or so gunshots and that he stayed in his office during the shooting.

Deborah Lee said she heard five to six gunshots at first and quoted a teacher saying: 'Run', and said: 'I was OK, because I know God protects me. I'm not afraid of him.' A bystander described a woman running away and being heard saying: 'There is a crazy guy inside,' and also that someone got shot in the chest right next to her before she got taken off in an ambulance, quoted as: ‘One of the people who was inside the building, she was saying there is a crazy guy inside,' witness Brian Snow told KGO-TV. ‘She did say someone got shot in the chest right next to her before she got taken off in an ambulance.'

One memorial service was mentioned as planned to be held at 6pm at the local Korean United Methodist Church.

Politically and contextually, the Oikos University shooting was described as occurring just over a month after a student in Ohio opened fire in his high school cafeteria, killing three students and wounding two others.

The case was described as the third-deadliest university shooting in United States history after the Virginia Tech massacre and the University of Texas Clock Tower shooting, and the seventh-deadliest U.S. school massacre overall. It was also described as the deadliest mass killing in the city's history.