A Tibeti Központi Kormány egy tagja is a Kaliforniai főiskolai lövöldözés áldozatai között van

2012. április 3./Phayul.com/TibetPress

Jelenleg csak angolul olvasható. Magyarul később.

DHARAMSHALA, April 3: A staff member of the Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration was one of the seven killed when a gunman opened indiscriminate fire at a college in California, Monday.

The deceased has been identified as Sonam Chodon, 33, a serving staff member of CTA, who had earlier worked at the Department of Education in Dharamshala.

Chodon was on a two-year unpaid leave from her office.

Jamphel Choesang, the head of Public Service Commission under the CTA told Phayul that Chodon was due to join service on September 5 later this year.

“Sonam Chodon joined Central Tibetan Administration in 2005 and took the two-year unpaid leave in 2010,” Choesang added.

According to eyewitnesses, the gunman, One Goh, entered a reception area of the Oikos University in Oakland and opened fire before walking into one of the two classes in session, spraying the room with bullets.

Seven students were killed and three injured in the firings.

The motive for the rampage was not immediately known, however, the gunman later surrendered at a grocery store several miles away from the University.

In a statement today, the Kashag said it was "deeply saddened" on hearing the news of Sonam Chodon’s demise.

Chodon's colleagues at the CTA attended a prayer service in the afternoon today at the staff auditorium, following which all the offices remained closed as a mark of respect.

Another Tibetan woman, Dechen Yangzom, was present in the next classroom when the shootings were taking place.

Yangzom’s husband Tashi Wangchuk later told reporters that his wife was in the second classroom when she heard gunfire.

"Out of instinct, she locked the door and turned off the lights. Then the guy came and banged on the door and shot several rounds at the door and then he left," Wangchuk said. "The police said what she did was heroic."

In a statement released through his office, California Governor Jerry Brown called the tragic loss of life at Oikos University “shocking and sad."

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families and friends and the entire community affected by this senseless act of violence."