Professor Killed in UCLA Shooting Was From South Bay

EL SEGUNDO, CA - The engineering professor killed in murder-suicide at UCLA on Wednesday was identified as William S. Klug of El Segundo.

Klug was reportedly killed by a graduated student over a bad grade, a police source told KNX.

He was a researcher at UCLA in the field of continuum mechanics and molecular biophysics, and father of two young children. Police still have not released the identity of the shooter.

"Shocking, to say the least," Lance Giroux, a friend of Klug's told ABC7. "I think pretty much everybody says that, but for a guy like Bill, it's even more shocking just based on his personality and the kind of guy he was. To have something like this happen is just unfathomable."

Klug coached Giroux's 10-year-old son's Little League team in El Segundo, Giroux said.

"It's hard to even fathom it," Giroux told KCAL9. "To have your son grow up without a dad is rough, so I'm hoping that the community here could kind of rally around that."

A GoFundMe page has been established to help Klug's wife 10-year-old son and daughter with funeral expenses.

Klug was known for including students and graduate students in his research, giving them hands-on opportunities to study biomechanical interactions.

“He was always there for us. I just really appreciate him being that type of person there when I’m in trouble doing my project or having trouble figuring out a problem," UCLA student Renjie Li told NBC. "He’s definitely one of my favorite professors here at UCLA."

"I’m just outraged," Li added. "I’m mad that someone would do that to a young professor who just started his career at UCLA. It’s just a shame."

Police have yet to identify a motive in the slaying.

Klug received a bachelor's degree from Westmont College in 1998, a master's at UCLA in 1999 and a doctorate from Caltech in 2003, according to his online biography.

--Patch Editor Paige Austin contributed to this report. Photo courtesy of UCLA