Freshman Faisal Mohammad identified as man who went on 'smiling' stabbing spree that injured four at California college
- Student from Santa Clara, 18, went on the rampage at UC Merced
- The attack happened shortly before 8am PT at the Sacramento campus
- He shot dead by police before 9.30am, officials confirmed
- Four people stabbed were two students, a staff member and a vendor
- Campus officials had earlier reported that five students had been stabbed
- His roommate said he was anti-social and didn't talk to anyone
A student who stabbed four people inside a classroom at the University of California, Merced, before he was killed by police has been identified.
Faisal Mohammad, a freshman from Santa Clara who majored in computer science and engineering, was shot dead by officers after his violent rampage on Wednesday morning.
The FBI are now trying to figure out the motives of the 18-year-old, who was living in an on-campus dorm, the Merced Sun Star reported.
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Byron Price (pictured with his fiancée Stephanie Jorta) was one of four people stabbed by Faisal Mohammad, in a classroom at UC Merced on Wednesday
Price, 31, said the suspect lunged at him when he entered the classroom after hearing sounds of a fight. He received nine staples after being stabbed in his left side (pictured right)
Andrew Velasquez, his roommate, told ABC30 Mohammad was anti-social and was always alone on campus.
'Didn't talk much. And I never saw him walk with anybody. Walking to class, I never saw him walk with anybody.
'Every time I would try and say something he would just ignore it.'
Police cancelled classes on Thursday so they could continue their investigation.
During a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Sheriff-Coroner Vern Warnke said that the weapon used in the stabbings was a hunting knife between 8 and 10 inches long.
The university said that two students, one staff member and a vendor were wounded but were expected to recover. Two of the victims were airlifted to specific hospitals for treatment.
And one of the victims – Byron Price - has been hailed a hero for his actions.Warnke said the building contractor’s entrance into the classroom likely prevented the death of the first victim who was attacked.
Price, 31, said when he went to investigate what he believed was a fist fight, the suspect lunged at him, stabbing his left side.
‘He had a smile on his face, he was having fun – which is more what bothers me,’ he told CBSFresno.
Andrew Velasquez, his roommate, said Mohammad was anti-social and was always alone on campus.
Mohammad, 18, was shot dead after stabbing four people in a classroom at UC Merced at 8am PT
UC Merced student Karen Bustamante, 18, hugs her mom Gloria Bustamantedro after she left the campus following a stabbing
University of California, Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland addresses the media during a press conference with UC Merced Police Chief Albert Vasquez (left) and Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke (right)
‘I just kind of kicked at him,’ Price added. ‘It was a really big knife and he was swinging it down so I figured if I was on the ground and my feet were at him, he could get my legs and not my body. And it turned out, it worked.’
The father-of-four said after he was wounded, he saw the attacker go on to stab others.
And he also revealed that he actually drove himself to hospital after being stabbed and received nine staples. He is now home with his children and fiancée.
Sheriff Warnke said the contractor had rushed into a classroom and intervened as one male student was stabbing another.
Warnke says the contractor himself was wounded, but that his actions probably prevented the student being attacked from being injured more seriously.
He says the alleged assailant then fled down two flights of stairs and outside, where he stabbed a female student and a female staff member.
The suspect was then shot and killed by police about 35 or 40 yards away from the classroom.
Campus Police Chief Albert Vasquez says the attack started inside a classroom and that more victims were wounded as the armed suspect fled.
Vasquez says two campus police officers saw the suspect outside and shot him as he turned toward them.
Authorities said that the weapon used in the stabbings was a hunting knife (like the one pictured in a stock photo, above) between 8 and 10 inches long
Merced County Sheriff SWAT members enter the University of California, Merced campus on Wednesday
The stabbings occurred shortly before 8am PT on Wednesday. By 9.30am, the suspect had been shot dead.
Campus officials had reported earlier in the day that five people were stabbed.
The campus was put on lockdown and classes were canceled for the day. It will remain closed on Thursday but is expected to reopen on Friday.
The university's chancellor Dorothy Leland said the stabbings are a troubling act of violence that has left the rural campus shaken.
She said she is thankful that wounds suffered by the victims do not appear to be life-threatening.
Leland added that despite the mass shootings on college campuses that have prompted schools to create emergency plans like the one activated at UC Merced after the stabbings, having an attack hit so close to home was shocking.
Student Alex Lopez, 21, had been heading to class when he realized something was wrong on campus.
First responders rush to the campus in Merced, south of Sacramento. Two of the victims were airlifted
The school tweeted to say all the victims are conscious after the 8am Pacific Time stabbing
'I was listening to a podcast, and there was a break in talking, and I just hear a gunshot,' he said.
He said police and first responders flooded the scene.
'You see this stuff all over the news and stuff and you see it happen to all these other schools,' but you don't expect it to happen at your school, he said.
The university, which opened in 2005, has about 6,500 students enrolled and is 120 miles south of Sacramento in the city of Merced.
The campus was the first new one built in California since 1965.
Attacks on US college campuses have been far from rare, though firearms are more commonly used.
A shooting on October 1 at a rural community college in Oregon left eight students, a professor and the gunman dead.
Students leave the University of California, Merced, campus after it was placed on lockdown
The campus, built 10 years ago, was the first new campus built in California since 1965
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