A professor stabbed to death on the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles on Friday was identified as psychology Professor Bosco Tjan, university officials said.
Tjan was killed Friday afternoon at the University Park Campus in the Seeley G. Mudd building, officials said. A student was arrested in connection with the death, officials said. He was identified Saturday morning as 28-year-old David Jonathan Brown of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Police said.
Tjan served as a co-director of the Dornsife Cognitive Neuroimaging Center and was an expert in perception, vision, and vision cognition. He joined the USC faculty in 2001.
"We are extremely proud of our Department of Public Safety officers for their quick response, and our university counselors for immediately offering support at the scene," C. L. Max Nikias, USC's president, said in a statement. "As the Trojan Family mourns Professor Tjan’s untimely passing, we will keep his family in our thoughts. We encourage anyone in need of support to reach out to Student Counseling Services or the Center for Work and Family Life. On Monday, our dean of religious life, Varun Soni, will bring the campus community together for reflection and prayer."
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 Seely G. Mudd. No danger to USC or the community. Stay away from the area," the text read.
The 10-story 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 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 percent of the more than 54,000 people who applied for its freshman class this year.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
NBC4 wire services contributed to this report.
