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2012 Oikos University shooting

SOLVED2012Oikos University, Airport Business Park, Oakland, California3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

On the morning of April 2, 2012, at approximately 10:30 a.m., a gunman entered Oikos University, a small Korean Christian college located in the Airport Business Park area of East Oakland, California, near Oakland International Airport. He stood up in a nursing classroom during a session, ordered the students to line up against a wall, and opened fire with a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun loaded with four 10-round magazines. A witness reported the gunman said, "Get in line ... I'm going to kill you all!" before shooting. Six students and a receptionist were killed, and three other people were injured; six of the seven fatalities were women. The shooter continued firing as he fled the campus in a vehicle belonging to one of the victims. He reportedly used most of the 40 rounds he had brought. Hours later, he surrendered to police at a Safeway supermarket in the South Shore area of Alameda, about five miles from the shooting scene. It is described as the deadliest mass killing in Oakland's history.

The suspect was identified as One L. Goh, born Su Nam Ko, a 43-year-old former Oikos University student who had been living in Oakland. Goh, a South Korean native naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2000, had previously lived in Virginia before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area. According to Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan, Goh had disciplinary problems at Oikos and had been asked to leave a few months before the shooting; he was reportedly angry after being denied a pro-rated tuition refund by a school administrator. Jordan said Goh went to the school intending to find that administrator, but upon learning she was not present, opened fire on other people. School officials later said Goh had not been formally expelled.

Goh was arraigned on April 4, 2012, and charged with seven counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. He initially did not enter a plea, and later pleaded not guilty on April 30, 2012. Court-appointed psychiatrists determined Goh had suffered from paranoid schizophrenia for years, and in January 2013 a judge ruled him mentally unfit to stand trial, ordering psychiatric treatment with periodic competency reviews. In August 2014, an Alameda County grand jury indicted Goh on the same charges, though he remained assessed as incompetent for trial as of September 2014. In December 2015, Goh reportedly expressed a wish for the death penalty, though it was unclear whether this reflected genuine remorse or ongoing delusions.

In May 2017, Goh entered a plea of no contest to the charges. On July 14, 2017, he was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences plus 271 years in prison, without the possibility of parole. Goh died in custody at California State Prison-Sacramento on March 20, 2019; as of April 9, 2019, the cause of death had not been publicly released by the Sacramento County coroner's office.

Key facts

Victims
Lydia Sim, Doris Chibuko, Sonam Choedon, Judith Seymour, Katleen Ping, Tshering Rinzing Bhutia, Grace Eunhae Kim
Date
2012
Location
Oikos University, Airport Business Park, Oakland, California
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2012-04-02

    A gunman opens fire inside a nursing classroom at Oikos University in Oakland, California, killing seven people and injuring three others.

  2. 2012-04-02

    The suspect, One L. Goh, surrenders to police at a Safeway supermarket in Alameda, California.

  3. 2012-04-04

    Goh is arraigned before Judge Sandra Bean and charged with seven counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.

  4. 2012-04-30

    Goh enters a not guilty plea through his public defender.

  5. 2012-10-01

    A pre-trial hearing is held; the court orders a competency evaluation.

  6. 2012-11-19

    A hearing addresses the first psychiatrist's report concluding Goh had long-term paranoid schizophrenia.

  7. 2013-01-07

    A judge rules Goh mentally unfit to stand trial and orders confinement for psychiatric treatment.

  8. 2014-08-26

    An Alameda County grand jury indicts Goh on seven counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.

  9. 2015-12-02

    At a hearing, Goh expresses a wish for the death penalty.

  10. 2017-05

    Goh pleads no contest to the charges.

  11. 2017-07-14

    Goh is sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences plus 271 years in prison without parole.

  12. 2019-03-20

    Goh dies in custody at California State Prison-Sacramento.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Lydia Sim

    VICTIM

    Killed in the April 2, 2012 shooting at Oikos University, age 21.

    citation on file

  • Doris Chibuko

    VICTIM

    Killed in the April 2, 2012 shooting at Oikos University, age 40.

    citation on file

  • Sonam Choedon

    VICTIM

    Killed in the April 2, 2012 shooting at Oikos University, age 33.

    citation on file

  • Judith Seymour

    VICTIM

    Killed in the April 2, 2012 shooting at Oikos University, age 53; a staff receptionist.

    citation on file

  • Katleen Ping

    VICTIM

    Killed in the April 2, 2012 shooting at Oikos University, age 24.

    citation on file

  • One L. Goh

    CONVICTED

    Former Oikos University student; pleaded no contest and was sentenced in July 2017 to seven consecutive life sentences plus 271 years without parole for the shooting.

    citation on file

  • Tshering Rinzing Bhutia

    VICTIM

    Killed in the April 2, 2012 shooting at Oikos University, age 38.

    citation on file

  • Grace Eunhae Kim

    VICTIM

    Killed in the April 2, 2012 shooting at Oikos University, age 23.

    citation on file

  • Howard Jordan

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Chief of the Oakland Police Department at the time of the shooting; provided public statements on the investigation.

    citation on file

Places

Oikos University, Airport Business Park, Oakland, California

37.7417, -122.2025

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On April 2, 2012, a gunman opened fire inside a nursing classroom at Oikos University in Oakland, California, killing seven people and wounding three others. One L. Goh, a former student, was later convicted and sentenced to consecutive life terms without parole.
Where did the shooting happen?
Oikos University, Airport Business Park, Oakland, California.
Who was convicted?
One L. Goh (Former Oikos University student; pleaded no contest and was sentenced in July 2017 to seven consecutive life sentences plus 271 years without parole for the shooting.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. 2012 Oikos University shootingwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — Los Angeles Timesnews · Los Angeles Times · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — CNNnews · CNN · 2026-07-07
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