A student stabbed a professor to death on the University of Southern California (USC) campus in Los Angeles on Friday in what was a personal dispute, authorities said.
Los Angeles Police Officer Meghan Aguilar did not immediately release the name of the professor or the student or the suspected motive in the Friday afternoon attack.
USC’s Department of Public Safety said in a statement that the attack “was not a random act of violence” and was believed to be the result of a personal dispute.
The University’s Trojans Alert emergency texting service quickly put out a message urging students, faculty and employees to stay away from the Seeley G. Mudd building, which houses science and medical classrooms.
“Police-related incident in progress at Seeley G. Mudd. No danger to USC or the community. Stay away from the area,” the text read.
The 10-storey building is in the heart of campus near the school’s running track.
USC was rocked last year by the beating death of a graduate student who was attacked and beaten by several people as he walked back to his off-campus apartment late at night after attending a study session.
Xinran Ji, a 24-year-old engineering student, managed to return to his apartment, where his roommate found him.
In 2012, Chinese graduate students Ming Qu and Ying Wu were shot to death as they sat in their BMW about a mile from campus.
After Ji’s murder USC officials sought to reassure parents of Chinese exchange students that the campus and its surrounding areas are safe.
USC has 44,000 students enrolled, including more than 10,000 international students.
A highly competitive school, it enrolled only about 16 per cent of the more than 54,000 people who applied for its freshman class this year.
