Breitbart: UCLA Shooter Entered U.S. on Foreign Student Visa In 2001
UCLA shooting suspect Mainak Sarkar came to the United States on a foreign student visa in 2001 after graduating from a prestigious Indian technology university and was granted permanent legal status in the U.S. in 2014.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the following statement to Breitbart News on Thursday afternoon regarding Sarkar’s legal status in the country:
Department of Homeland Security databases indicate that Mr. Sarkar was in the United States lawfully at the time of his death, having been granted lawful permanent residence in May 2014. According to DHS databases, Mr. Sarkar originally came to the U.S. in 2001 on a foreign student visa to pursue graduate studies. DHS’ electronic records show he obtained three student visas between 2001 and 2008 to engage in masters and doctoral programs in the U.S.
After the December 2 terror attack in San Bernardino perpetrated by K-1 fiancée visa recipient Tashfeen Malik and her husband, U.S. citizen Syed Rizwan Farook, serious questions arose over the vetting of those granted visas to the United States. It was discovered after the attack that Malik and Farook may never have even met before she came to the U.S. as required for the visa to be approved.
Sarkar graduated from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) in 2000 with a degree in aerospace engineering, according to the Los Angeles Times. The IIT has been criticized for diminishing quality in recent years. The Times reported, “The intense pressure for success has resulted in a growing mental health crisis at top Indian educational institutions, including IIT.” Reports indicate 57 aspiring IIT students have committed suicide in the last five years.
The motives for Sarkar’s alleged murder suicide at UCLA on Wednesday are still under investigation. Police are said to be looking into Sarkar’s grades and relationship with the professor he is accused of murdering, William Klug.
Police did find what is being described as Sarkar’s “kill list” at his Minnesota home, spelling out the names of three people. Klug’s name was on the list, as well as the name of a woman who has since been found dead. CNN reported that Deputy Police Chief Mark Bruley of the Brooklyn Park, Minnesota Police Department told reporters on Thursday that they had found her on Thursday, but that it appears she was shot before Wednesday’s UCLA shooting.
