FBI releases new information about UC Merced attack

Friday, March 18, 2016

This imaged shows 18-year-old Faisal Mohammed, a University of California Merced student accused of stabbing four people on campus before he was killed by police in November.
KGO-TV

MERCED, Calif. -- The FBI has confirmed that a stabbing attack on the UC Merced campus was inspired by international terrorism. The attack in November of last year left four people wounded and the attacker, 18-year-old Faisal Mohammed, dead.

The FBI is making it clear there's no evidence Mohammed was instructed by any terrorist group, but it appears he was inspired by the Islamic State.

Initial reports indicated that Mohammad was upset about being kicked out of a study group, but the FBI report indicates he plotted the attack for at least a week and visited various terrorist websites, including those of the Islamic State.

Mohammad caused panic on the UC Merced campus when he stabbed a fellow student in a classroom, then three others as he ran across campus. All of the stabbing victims survived.

Mohammad was shot to death by a campus police officer after witnesses said he lunged at the officer with a knife.

In their report, the FBI said, "His laptop contained pro-ISIL propaganda, and he had visited ISIL and other extremist websites in the weeks prior to his attack. "

The report also said, "Mohammad was carrying a backpack which contained a two-page, hand-written plan detailing his intentions to include taking hostages and killing students and police officers. Investigators also found a photocopy of an ISIL flag and a list of items he thought he would need for an attack such as zip ties, glass breaker, and a knife among his belongings."

The report concludes Faisal Mohammad acted on his own, and that his motivation for the attack may never be known.

UC Merced chancellor Dorothy Leland issued a statement late Thursday saying, "We are relieved to finally have resolution to this very tragic event on the UC Merced campus. "

The FBI report concludes Faisal Mohammad acted on his own, and that his motivation for the attack may never be known.

Mohammad was a computer science major from Santa Clara.

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UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland issued the following statement regarding the results of the FBI's investigation into the Nov. 4 attack on campus:

"We are relieved to finally have resolution to this very tragic event on the UC Merced campus. This concludes the investigation, which was a cooperative effort that could not have been as successful without the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"I would like to thank the public, and especially our campus community, for having patience as we navigated the long road to get to this point of closure. While I shared your desire for a quicker resolution, we are better served by law enforcement's completion of its investigation in due course.

"I am proud of the way our campus community came together in the aftermath of this incident, and the kindness displayed by so many only reinforced what I already knew to be true about UC Merced. Now, we move to the task of further healing and taking care of the needs of our students, staff and faculty."