This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/19/james-oliver-seevakumaran-explosives-ammunition
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| UCF student planned massacre and had explosives and ammunition, say police | UCF student planned massacre and had explosives and ammunition, say police |
| (17 days later) | |
| A Florida student suspected of planning a campus massacre was an unfriendly loner armed with more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition and a backpack full of explosives when he killed himself, police said on Tuesday. | A Florida student suspected of planning a campus massacre was an unfriendly loner armed with more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition and a backpack full of explosives when he killed himself, police said on Tuesday. |
| James Oliver Seevakumaran had also received packages containing gun-related material and an instructional DVD about assault weapons, according to Richard Beary, chief of police at Orlando's University of Central Florida. A "check list" found in his room that police say Seevakumaran wrote, allegedly indicating his plan to attack students, contained the final words: "Give them hell." | James Oliver Seevakumaran had also received packages containing gun-related material and an instructional DVD about assault weapons, according to Richard Beary, chief of police at Orlando's University of Central Florida. A "check list" found in his room that police say Seevakumaran wrote, allegedly indicating his plan to attack students, contained the final words: "Give them hell." |
| The suspect shot himself dead in the early hours of Monday as police raced to investigate a fire alarm at a residential tower block at the university and a 911 call from a student who said he had been threatened by a man with a rifle. | The suspect shot himself dead in the early hours of Monday as police raced to investigate a fire alarm at a residential tower block at the university and a 911 call from a student who said he had been threatened by a man with a rifle. |
| Beary revealed more details of the investigation at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, at which he showed a video taken by a helmet camera of police bursting into the 30-year-old's dormitory room, where they found his body, ammunition, explosives and a .22 calibre assault rifle and .45 calibre handgun he had bought from an Orlando gun store. Beary said that a second video, CCTV footage of Seevakumaran leaving his room at about midnight and setting off the building's fire alarm, confirmed the theory that the suspect intended to get students out into the open so he could attack them. | Beary revealed more details of the investigation at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, at which he showed a video taken by a helmet camera of police bursting into the 30-year-old's dormitory room, where they found his body, ammunition, explosives and a .22 calibre assault rifle and .45 calibre handgun he had bought from an Orlando gun store. Beary said that a second video, CCTV footage of Seevakumaran leaving his room at about midnight and setting off the building's fire alarm, confirmed the theory that the suspect intended to get students out into the open so he could attack them. |
| "We see him walk out, pull the alarm and go back into his room," Beary said. "There's no evidence, no component to indicate anyone else was involved at all." | "We see him walk out, pull the alarm and go back into his room," Beary said. "There's no evidence, no component to indicate anyone else was involved at all." |
| In a separate development, Seevakumaran's roommate, who called 911 to alert authorities, spoke of the moment he opened the door of their third-floor bedroom to find the suspect pointing a rifle at him. Arabo Babakhani, 24, said in interviews with the Orlando Sentinel and the college news website knightnews.com that he was alone in the room playing his guitar when he heard the fire alarm go off. He said he opened the door to investigate, saw Seevakumaran with the weapon and slammed the door shut before locking it and calling 911. | In a separate development, Seevakumaran's roommate, who called 911 to alert authorities, spoke of the moment he opened the door of their third-floor bedroom to find the suspect pointing a rifle at him. Arabo Babakhani, 24, said in interviews with the Orlando Sentinel and the college news website knightnews.com that he was alone in the room playing his guitar when he heard the fire alarm go off. He said he opened the door to investigate, saw Seevakumaran with the weapon and slammed the door shut before locking it and calling 911. |
| "He didn't say a single word," Babakhani said, something he was used to from their time as roommates. "Instead of walking by me, sometimes he'll walk around me. Or, if he does walk by, he'll just stare off in another direction so he doesn't look at me. The only time he actually made solid eye contact with me is when he was pointing the gun at me." | "He didn't say a single word," Babakhani said, something he was used to from their time as roommates. "Instead of walking by me, sometimes he'll walk around me. Or, if he does walk by, he'll just stare off in another direction so he doesn't look at me. The only time he actually made solid eye contact with me is when he was pointing the gun at me." |
| Babakhani said he saw nothing to suggest the man was hoarding weapons or ammunition, and that although he was a solitary figure who displayed anti-social tendencies, his behaviour was never violent or threatening. | Babakhani said he saw nothing to suggest the man was hoarding weapons or ammunition, and that although he was a solitary figure who displayed anti-social tendencies, his behaviour was never violent or threatening. |
| A university spokesman, Grant Heston, said that authorities were in the process of evicting Seevakumaran from the halls of residence because he was no longer an enrolled student after failing to pay his tuition fees. Heston said the campus was now fully open again after 500 students were evacuated on Monday and classes were cancelled for the morning. "It's a safe campus, it's a safe place to live and work," he said. | A university spokesman, Grant Heston, said that authorities were in the process of evicting Seevakumaran from the halls of residence because he was no longer an enrolled student after failing to pay his tuition fees. Heston said the campus was now fully open again after 500 students were evacuated on Monday and classes were cancelled for the morning. "It's a safe campus, it's a safe place to live and work," he said. |
| A statement from Seevakumaran's family, who live in St Petersburg, Florida, appeared to confirm his fellow students' view. "James was a loner and did not have a history of violence," it said. "The family does not wish to make any further comments to the media and has requested privacy." | A statement from Seevakumaran's family, who live in St Petersburg, Florida, appeared to confirm his fellow students' view. "James was a loner and did not have a history of violence," it said. "The family does not wish to make any further comments to the media and has requested privacy." |
| Beary said police had discovered "no manifesto, no documentation or anything that would give us a motive or rationale" for an attack, although he said that experts were analysing Seevakumaran's computer, which contained "a lot of data". He said that that toxicology tests were under way to determine the level of alcohol in the dead man's body at the time he committed suicide. | Beary said police had discovered "no manifesto, no documentation or anything that would give us a motive or rationale" for an attack, although he said that experts were analysing Seevakumaran's computer, which contained "a lot of data". He said that that toxicology tests were under way to determine the level of alcohol in the dead man's body at the time he committed suicide. |
| "He was a loner but never a threat, he didn't like to talk to people but it wasn't a big deal," Beary said, adding that Seevakumaran's behaviour had never aroused anybody's suspicion. "The roommate made that clear. There was never any outward indication of guns or weapons, nobody saw him with ammunition. But in my experience you don't have that amount of ammunition, 1,000 rounds, as a joke." | "He was a loner but never a threat, he didn't like to talk to people but it wasn't a big deal," Beary said, adding that Seevakumaran's behaviour had never aroused anybody's suspicion. "The roommate made that clear. There was never any outward indication of guns or weapons, nobody saw him with ammunition. But in my experience you don't have that amount of ammunition, 1,000 rounds, as a joke." |
| Beary said investigators found unopened packages addressed to Seevakumaran at a university post office. They contained a tactical sling, a shooting video and weapons magazines and the suspect had not yet collected them, he said. | Beary said investigators found unopened packages addressed to Seevakumaran at a university post office. They contained a tactical sling, a shooting video and weapons magazines and the suspect had not yet collected them, he said. |
| On his Facebook page, Seevakumaran, who went to high school in St Petersburg, listed employment as a cashier at a sushi bar on campus. A spokesman for Kyoto Sushi and Grill said he had no comment. | On his Facebook page, Seevakumaran, who went to high school in St Petersburg, listed employment as a cashier at a sushi bar on campus. A spokesman for Kyoto Sushi and Grill said he had no comment. |
| guardian.co.uk today is our daily snapshot of the top news stories, sent to your inbox at 8am |