Different Administrator Targeted In Oakland School Massacre
OAKLAND (CBS SF) - The gunman accused of killing six students and an employee at Oikos University in Oakland targeted a school administrator other than the woman who ran the Christian college's nursing program, said Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan.
Jordan initially said Ellen Cervellon, director of the nursing program, was the intended target before One L. Goh opened fire on students in a classroom.
The police chief later told the Associated Press that another school administrator whom he would not identify, citing safety concerns, was targeted.
Goh did not enter a plea when he was arraigned Wednesday and charged with seven counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder, plus the special circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders that could make him eligible for the death penalty.
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Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said it could take several months for her office to evaluate whether to pursue capital punishment in the Goh case.
A committee will weigh all the evidence in the case, "and information we receive from the defense attorney," O'Malley said, before she made her decision.
KCBS' Bob Melrose Reports:
Legal analyst Steven Clark, a defense attorney not involved in the case, said prosecutors would take into account the premeditated nature of the attack and Goh's emotional state in the aftermath.
"You have someone who does not appear to be remorseful, and there was absolutely no provocation for this behavior. He apparently was not under the influence at the time," Clark said.
"And he doesn't appear, based on the amount of premeditation that's been shown here, to suffer from any mental disorder."
The husband of one of the victims said he suspected Goh was behind the shootings as soon as he heard about the murder of his wife, 40-year-old Doris Chibuko, according to a family friend.
KCBS' Chris Filippi Reports:
Chibuko emigrated from Nigeria where she had been a lawyer. She raised three children in San Leandro before deciding to go back to school to become a nurse, said close family friend Obi Chidom, who hails from the same part of Nigeria.
"She loved being a mom. That was her reason to live," he said.
KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:
Chibuko was class president at Oikos University. Chidom said Chibuko had warned the whole family that One Goh had been verbally abusive, and that classmates were afraid of him.
"He came one fateful day and the whole class was in fear of him," Chidom said. "And they sort of said he was going to do something that day. They were more than afraid."
While a motive for the April 2 killings still has not been definitely established, District Attorney O'Malley said it appears Goh had sought to have his tuition refunded after he voluntarily left the school.
Goh may enter a plea when he returns to court April 30.
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