Faculty Member Fatally Stabbed On USC Campus
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Authorities said a man was fatally stabbed on the USC campus Friday afternoon.
The man was described as a faculty member.
Officials said the suspect is in custody. The suspect was described as a male student.
The stabbing occurred on the 3600 block of McClintock just before 4:30 p.m., officials said.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim's age was originally reported as 25. Later, police said they could not immediately confirm the man's age.
Friday evening, USC PResident C.L. Max Nikias sent a letter to the USC community saying, "With tremendous sadness, I write to share the news that Professor Bosco Tjan was tragically killed this afternoon."
Tjan was a professor of psychology. He joined the school in 2001, the university president added.
KCAL9's Laurie Perez reported from the scene hours after the suspect was taken into custody.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene with lots of police, a student being led off in hnadcuffs out of a USC academic building.
"He was like mid 20's, kind of sketchy looking, he just had a really flat face on his look," said a witness about the suspect.
LAPD has not released the suspect's name but did confirm he was a USC student. They could not immediately say if the student suspect had a class with the victim professor.
Campus police were first to arrive on scene following reports of a man suffering from multiple stab wounds incide the Seeley G. Mudd building at 3620 McClintock.
Firefighter paramedics arrived and declared the man dead inside the science center.
An alert went out to students, via text and email letting them know: "police-related incident in progress. No danger to USC or the community. Stay away from area."
A graduate student teaching assistant worried about the possible connection between the student and the professor.
"It's pretty scary especially being a PhD student and stuff like that. From [being a] TA [teacher's assistant] in class, or proctoring an exam, it could have very easily been me," said Ben Ford.
Today was the last day of classes. Finals begin next week.
A university service for Professor Tjan is being planned.
