El Cerrito Woman Among Slain at Oakland Campus

Among the seven killed in a bloody rampage by a gunman at Oikos University in Oakland Monday morning was Sonam Chodon, a 33-year-old woman who lived in El Cerrito, according to the Tibetan Association of Northern California.

Chodon had lived in El Cerrito for two years with her brother, Jinpa, the association said in a statement that was posted on Facebook. Before coming to the Bay Area, she worked for five years in the Department of Education at Dharamsala, center of the Tibetan government in exile in India, the association said.

A 43-year-old suspect, One L. Goh, was arrested at a Safeway in Alameda about  11:15 a.m., roughly 45 minutes after the shooting at the small Chrisitan college that also left three people wounded, according to Bay City News service. 

The Los Angeles Times called the crime "one of California's worst mass killings."

Oakland police said he was a former nursing student at the school, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The newspaper cited an unidentified police source saying that Goh was involved in a dispute with campus officials which may have resulted in his being kicked out of at least one class.

Police had yet to release the names of victims last night, but they apparently included two young women from Fremont, Grace Eunhae Kim and Lydia Sim, according to close friends of the women, . 

Among the wounded was Dawinder Kaur, 19, of Santa Clara, who was shot in the arm, treated at a local hospital and allowed to go home, Bay City News reported.

The statement about Chodon from the Tibetan Association of Northern California said:

Dear friends, 

In today's tragic senseless violence, seven students from Oikos University lost their lives and several injured from the mass shooting. One of seven who lost their life from today's tragedy is our community member, 33-year old Sonam Chodon who lived in the Bay Area for almost two years with her brother, Jinpa in El Cerrito. Before her lifebegan here, she worked five years in Department of Education, Dharamsala. 

Our deepest sympathy to Sonam Chodon la's family and friends, and the victims of today's tragedy.
Please join us for Tsog and Monlam tomorrow, Tuesday, April 3rd from 7pm at Dhe Shey Phuntsog Ling.

With Sympathy, 
Tenzin Palzom
General Secretary
Tibetan Association of Northern California
5200 Huntington Ave, Richmond, CA 94804
510-666-1355
www.tanc.org
facebook: TibetanAssoc NorCal

The Web site for Oikos University is bilingual in Korean and English and lists four schools, in theology, music, nursing and Asian medicine. The school is located close by Interstate 880, near the Oakland Coliseum.