Our View: Heroic actions kept tragic rampage from becoming worse

We’ll never truly know what motivated teenager Faisal Mohammad to attack four people at UC Merced on Wednesday morning. We might learn more about his background, his Santa Clara home life, his religious convictions or whether he felt aggrieved. But the inner torments that compelled him to violence disappeared with his life.

We do know something about the motivations of the two people we believe were essential to interrupting Mohammad’s violent assault and keeping it from becoming far, far worse – perhaps even deadly. Byron Price, a construction worker, heard the commotion coming from a nearby classroom. He didn’t ignore it or conclude it was someone else’s problem.

He did something likely instinctual for him, but unthinkable for most. He opened the door.

Price walked in as Mohammad was attacking another young man. Price interrupted that attack, perhaps saving the victim’s life.

Witnesses say Mohammad then turned on Price, stabbing him. As he fled, Mohammad slashed another person and then another sitting on a bench outside the Classroom and Office Building. A few moments later, Mohammad encountered campus police.

The motivations of those officers are incredibly clear and entirely appropriate. Campus police are responsible for the safety of UC Merced’s 7,000 students and staff; they acted as they must to ensure that safety.

The identity of the UC Merced officer who fired on Mohammad has not been released. But we know he was experienced and we believe he stuck to his training, ordering Mohammad to stop and put down the weapon. When that didn’t happen, the officer was left with no choice. With four already injured, he could not allow Mohammad to continue his flight, endangering everyone he encountered.

Firing on a teenager could not have been easy, and we’re certain the officer would rather have taken any other option. It’s doubtful any other options existed.

Thursday, Chancellor Dorothy Leland confirmed this was not a terrorist attack. It appears to have arisen from a confrontation; something that happens when young people live away from home for the first time.

KFSN in Fresno reported Mohammad often ignored his roommates and was a loner. KGO reported he was quiet and usually alone while attending Wilcox High School in Santa Clara. Mohammad was a troubled teen, not a conniving terrorist.

If there is any call to action after this horrible incident, it is for college administrators to better recognize that the first few months away from home are incredibly stressful for many students. Most make friends, frequently building relationships that last a lifetime. But a few don’t fit in; and without their families to provide emotional support, their alienation and anger can turn inward or turn into violence.

Such incidents are disturbingly common on American campuses, as are suicides and destructive behaviors. This year, students have been stabbed at UCLA, Rutgers, the University of Illinois, two small campuses in Maryland, Chico State, Sacramento State … the list goes on. Almost every incident was the result of a fight or personal confrontation, not terrorism or psychosis.

Those responsible for helping young people adjust to a new lifestyle must find ways to allow them to fit in. When they don’t, they must encourage them to seek help rather than retaliation.

Once a student picks up a knife or a gun or a club, it’s too late.

We’ll never know what caused Faisal Mohammad to go on a rampage. We only know the results ... and that they could have been much worse without a heroic construction worker and a police officer required to do his duty.

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Our View: Heroic actions kept tragic rampage from becoming worse."