The University of Central Florida student who planned to massacre his fellow students had ordered more than $700 worth of weapons online, including two packages of ammunition, gun shooting DVDs, and accessories for his weapons that arrived on campus after the attack had already been thwarted.
The packages contained even more ammunition for the attack that former UCF student James Oliver Seevakumaran, 30, planned to carry out Monday morning shortly after midnight.
He already had a handgun, assault rifle, high capacity magazines, and four homemade bombs he hoped to use on fellow students after pulling the fire alarm and forcing them into the crowded hallways, according to police.
University Police Chief Richard Beary said today that Seevakumaran had written out a detailed list of the actions he hoped to take Monday night and crossed off the items as he went, including getting drunk at a bar called Mad Hatters and pulling the fire alarm. Police confirmed that he did both.
The last item on the list was "give 'em hell," but Seevakumaran killed himself before killing any fellow students, Beary said.
According to cops, the former business student pulled the fire alarm shortly after midnight, causing campus police to respond to the Tower 1 residence hall. He then returned to his apartment, where he pointed a rifle at roommate Arabo Babakhani.
Courtesy University of Central Florida
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Babakhani quickly hid in the bathroom and called 911 before Seevakumaran had a chance to shoot.
"As soon as the fire alarm happened, I open my door, I think something is burning on the stove. I open my door and I see my roommate with an assault rifle. I didn't stop and look, I slam the door in his face so he couldn't harm me. As soon as I open the door he just raised the rifle on me," Babakhani told ABC News.
Babakhani said Seevakumaran was a loner.
"For the most part if you said anything to him he would ignore you, he would stare off in the distance and pretend like you didn't exist. But he made eye contact with me when he pulled the gun on me. That was the best eye contact I ever had with him. He looked me dead in the eye and raised the gun," Babakhani said.
"I thought he went after my roommate but I didn't hear a struggle. Then I heard pops and then silence," he said.
University police responded to the apartment and, in a dramatic video shown at a press conference today, spent tedious moments trying to find the right key to enter Seevakumaran's room while the fire alarm sounded around them. Upon entering, they found Seevakumaran dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Officers quickly backed out of the room where Seevakumaran's body was. Police said that he had four homemade IEDs that were laced with shrapnel in a backpack in his room, in addition to the guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
The suspect had a American Tactical .22 caliber assault rifle and a High Point .45 caliber handgun and high capacity magazines, including a drum magazine similar to the type used in the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo.
Police discovered today that Seevakumaran had two additional packages that he never picked up at the campus post office that included a sling for his rifle, a magazine, and DVDs on shooting and using lasers with weapons.
Beary said that the suspect spent at least $700 on the weapons and ammunition for the attack.
Seevakumaran had purchased his guns online and picked them up at a local Orlando federal firearms dealer, according to Beary.
Police said they were still investigating the incident but that there was no discernible motive for the planned attack.
Last Item on Gunman's List Was 'Give 'Em Hell'
Seevakumaran had been a student at the university from fall 2010 until December 2012, but he did not re-enroll for the 2013 semester. He was in the process of being evicted from the dorm when he killed himself. University officials said that it should not have taken as long as it did to evict Seevakumaran, but that the school took pains to be "compassionate" to students who had nowhere to go.
ABC News
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Babakhani said that his roommate was a loner.
"For the most part if you said anything to him he would ignore you. He would stare off in the distance and pretend like you didn't exist. But he made eye contact with me when he pulled the gun on me. That was the best eye contact I ever had with him. He looked me dead in the eye and raised the gun," Babakhani.
His roommates said they had never seen him with guns or weapons.
University police have stressed how the number of weapons and ammunition could have led to mass tragedy.
"Anybody armed with this type of weapon could have hurt a lot of people there, particularly in a crowded area as people were evacuating," Beary said. "It could have been a very bad day."
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UCF Gunman's To-Do List Ended With 'Give 'Em Hell' Updated at :
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Wednesday, March 20, 2013
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