Today Marks One-Year Since Deadly Oikos University Shooting

Today marks one year since a tragic shooting rampage at an Oakland university claimed the lives of seven Bay Area residents.

At about 10:30 a.m. on April 2, 2012, authorities got word that gunman One Goh, 44, had opened fire at Oikos University, located at 7850 Edgewater Dr. in Oakland. Seven women were left for dead by the end of his rampage.

Goh was taken into custody by Alameda police officers less than an hour later at the Safeway supermarket at South Shore Center, where the suspect had contacted a store security guard. An Alameda woman who was shopping at Safeway at the time described seeing Goh at the market.

Those killed were students Lydia Sim, 21, of Hayward; Sonam Choedon, 33, of El Cerrito; Grace Kim, 23, of Union City; Doris Chibuko, 40, of San Leandro; Judith Seymour, 53, of San Jose; Tshering Bhutia, 38, of San Francisco; and Katleen Ping, 24, of Oakland, who worked at the school.

The university will hold two memorial concerts, one this Saturday, April 6 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Oakland and the other on Saturday, April 13 at Capital Korean Presbyterian Church in El Dorado Hills in the Sacramento area. The San Francisco Master Chorale, which includes Oikos president Rev. Jongin Kim, will perform Mozart’s Requiem to honor those in the deadly attack.

As the anniversary arrives, family members mourn their loved ones.

Wangchen Nyima, brother of Sonam Choedon, told the Oakland Tribune that he’s had nightmares almost every night since Choedon was taken from her family. Nyima said that a small group of family and friends would gather today to remember Choedon.

Osagie Enabulele, a close friend of Doris Chibuko, told the Tribune that the Nigerian community has come together to support the Chibuko family.

"We know that she's somewhere now resting," Enabulele told the Tribune. "But she was taken away too soon."

Kaine Ping, brother of Katleen Ping, said that he, his parents and Ping’s 6-year-old son would visit Katleen’s grave at the Chapel of the Chimes in Hayward. The loss has been devastating, particularly for Katleen’s son, Kaine Ping told the Tribune.

As the community and loved ones mourn the tragedy at Oikos, Goh remains at a mental hospital for treatment. Though Goh pleaded not guilty to seven counts of murder last year, he was eventually deemed unfit to stand trial.

Goh, a classmate who investigators said was upset over tuition fees, was determined to be a paranoid schizophrenic by two court-appointed psychiatrists, according to the Tribune. In January until he is mentally capable of standing trial.

Goh is scheduled to return to court on April 29 for a progress report on his treatment.

Read the full Tribune story here.

See a recent New York Times article, "Should It Matter That the Shooter at Oikos University Was Korean?," here.