Left: 2006 photo of James Seevakumaran following a traffic violation in Seminole County, Right: Undated photo of Seevakumaran; both released Monday, March 18, 2013, after the 30-year-old shot and killed himself in a Tower 1 dorm room at UCF. Campus police said they found evidence that Seevakumaran was planning an attack on the
WASHINGTON, March 21, 2013
James Oliver Seevakumaran (30) was identified by Florida police as the person behind a plot that could have resulted in the first-ever mass shooting by a man of Indian descent.
While neither authorities nor the local media put out specific details on whether Seevakumaran was Indian-American, what is known is that this week he was found dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds in his dorm room at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, surrounded by explosives and assault weapons.
UCF president John Hitt said Seevakumaran was a student in the College of Business Administration and was enrolled from the fall semester of 2010 through fall 2012, but as he was no longer enrolled in any of the courses this year he was “in the process of being removed from UCF housing.”
Yet clearly he hadn’t been moved soon enough. After a 911 call sounded on March 18, authorities searching the dorms found Seevakumaran in his apartment with a handgun, tactical assault rifle and a backpack containing four improvised explosive devices. The police noted that he had more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
According to reports, Seevakumaran had also obtained gun-related printed materials and an instructional DVD about assault weapons. Richard Beary, Police Chief UCF, said that a “checklist” was found in his room along with the written plan to set off the emergency alarm and attack evacuating students. His note allegedly contained the final words: “Give them hell.”
He actually did proceed with part of his plan, which included getting drunk at a local bar and then pulling the alarm, according to CCTV footage that police shared with media on the scene. However after a student called the emergency number when confronted by a man with a rifle, authorities entered his room to discover that he had apparently shot himself.
Referring to Seevakumaran’s roommate, Chief Beary said: “The roommate made [it] clear [that] 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.”
(Narayan Laxman; Hindu)
UPDATE:
The family of a student who was plotting a deadly attack on the University of Central Florida campus before he took his own life has released a statement.
James Oliver Seevakumaran’s family described him as “a loner,” adding he did not have a history of violence.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office spoke Tuesday on behalf of Seevakumaran’s family, who lives in that county.
The Sheriff’s Office said the family did not wish to make any further comments to the media, and requested privacy during this difficult time.
They say he did not have a history of violence.
Seevakumaran’s family used to live in Seminole. When asked about the family Tuesday, a neighbor said he remembers the, living there about 15 years ago, but does not remember seeing a boy.
Seevakumaran was not located in a Seminole High School yearbook, but his sister Natasha was. When asked about this, the school district said they could not find him in any of the yearbooks from his time there.
One of Seevakumaran’s roommates called 911 shortly after midnight Monday after he said Seevakumaran pointed a gun at him.
The roommate told the student-run publication Knightly News that Seevakumaran was an introvert who never had visitors.
According to accounts from his classmates at UCF, Seevakumaran left little impression on them before his suicide led to the discovery of his plans and his weapons, including four improvised explosive devices.
Another dorm mate said he recalled friendly but distant interactions with Seevakumaran, while several others said they didn’t recall seeing or interacting with him.
