University of Southern California Confirms Student Fatally Stabbed Psychology Professor

iStock/Thinkstock(LOS ANGELES) —  The University of Southern California has confirmed that a man stabbed to death Friday afternoon at its Los Angeles campus was a faculty member. It also confirmed that the suspect in police custody is a student.

In a letter sent to staff and students, USC president C.L. Max Nikias identified the victim as Bosco Tjan, a professor of psychology with the university’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. LAPD said the student’s name would be released after he was interviewed and booked.

Tjan, also the co-director of the Dornsife Cognitive Neuroimaging, joined the USC faculty in 2001 and was an expert in perception, vision, and vision, cognition, Nikias wrote.

According to the LAPD, Tjan was killed inside the Seeley G. Mudd building around 4:30 p.m. A male student was arrested without incident immediately after police arrived at the scene of the attack but his name was not released.

The USC Department of Public Safety said in a statement that investigators believe the attack “was the result of a personal dispute.”

 USC’s Nikias said in his letter, “Our Department of Public Safety officers responded immediately, and apprehended the suspect on the scene. The suspect was confirmed to be a student, and is in the custody of the Los Angeles Police Department. 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.”

Nikias said on Monday the school’s dean of religious life, Varun Soni, “will bring the campus community together for reflection and prayer.”

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