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UCLA Shooting: 2 Dead in Murder-Suicide, My Take

By Mike Regalado

June 1, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FBI personnel walk down Westwood Blvd. from the UCLA campus after a shooting was reported this morning. Two people were killed in the incident as the campus was on lockdown throughout the morning and early afternoon. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY NETWORK
June 1, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FBI personnel walk down Westwood Blvd. from the UCLA campus after a shooting was reported this morning. Two people were killed in the incident as the campus was on lockdown throughout the morning and early afternoon. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY NETWORK /
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The campus of UCLA was put on lockdown this morning due to an apparent murder-suicide which involved the killing of UCLA Professor William Klug.

The opinions expressed in this article are that of Mike Regalado and do not reflect the views of Go Joe Bruin or FanSided.

It is a sad day for the UCLA community. Per the Daily Bruin, two people are dead after an apparent murder-suicide which took the life of William Klug, a professor in the field of biomechanics at UCLA.

It is sad. It is scary. It is painful. Another act of lethal violence occurred, with this one being very close to home for the UCLA family.

RELATED: Tragedy and Terror Strike UCLA

Just before 9:00 a.m. PT, there were reports of a shooting on the Westwood campus. At 8:59 a.m., the UCLA school newspaper, the Daily Bruin, had tweeted this:

From there, messages and information (valid or not) incited fear in the UCLA family. Whether you were within the boundaries of the school or outside them, the Bruin heart was hurting. A gunman was on campus. Our campus. This is not happening in some far off land, it is happening right there in Westwood.

The UCLA campus was issued an alert and immediately went into lockdown. Everyone was advised to seek shelter as Campus Police, LAPD, LAFD, ATF and the FBI were deployed.

In the end it was revealed that a single disturbed individual took the life of an accredited professor, and then took his own life. A suicide note and a gun were found at the scene.

But why did it have to get this far?

For me, it does not matter what side of the gun control issue you are on because that does not matter at the moment and simply, I don’t care about it right now. What I care about is that someone decided to end the life of another using a gun and then turned that weapon on himself.

It did not have to get that far, but it did. And now two people will never be able to open their eyes again. They will not see the sunrise again. They will never be able to breathe air again. They will never be able to walk through the beautiful campus that is UCLA. Never again.

Forgive me. This has been a very emotional day.

It did not have to get this far. There is always help. Whatever the shooter was feeling, he could have sought help. And yet I write that from my ivory tower, not knowing what was going through his mind. I am still breathing and he is not. Still, I will continue to proclaim that it did not have to come to this.

I was not on the campus, but I know people that were or were at least very near Westwood at the time. It is a scary feeling knowing someone you care about is that close to a tragedy that has now made national headlines. And then to realize that over 40,000 people were in the area makes the mind go to dark places. This could have been a lot worse than it was. But equally, it could not have happened at all.

Yet it did happen. And now the entire UCLA campus has to move on as classes and finals resume tomorrow (except for Engineering, which will reportedly re-open on Monday).

I don’t know what I am trying to prove by writing this. I am still confused. Maybe I just need to vent. Maybe I’m still scared. Maybe, as a parent, I can guess how it feels to be the parent of a UCLA student on campus today.

Maybe I can also guess what it is like to be a family, friend or colleague of Prof. Klug, who will never teach again.

As I stated, I do not know what I am doing with this, but if you take one thing from my words, please make it this… life is way too short, be good to each other. End of rant. Thank you for reading.

If you or someone you know is battling suicidal thoughts and/or depression, there is help. Visit www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org or call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-8255.