By Danny Morales (Story from 3/21/13 – Updated on 3/22/13)
Courtesy of University of Central Florida
The floorplan of Room 308 in Tower I where James Seevakumaran’s body was found in his suite C dorm room.
ORLANDO — Email records released by the University of Central Florida on Friday showed that would-be gunman James Seevakumaran had complained about his roommates in a previous apartment and had asked for a room switch on May 26, 2011.
A follow-up email then showed that Seevakumaran requested to be placed in Room 308, which was one floor below his previous room. Seevakumaran stated in the email that being relocated to that room would be “super convenient!”
UCF released information on Thursday that showed Seevakumaran, the student who police found was planning an attack on the campus before taking his own life early Monday morning, had not payed for housing on his dormitory for over a year.
The files released by the university also showed that Seevakumaran owed $3,390.00 by August 03, 2012, with that number increasing to $7,230.00 by December 07, 2012 after multiple $100 late fees and an entire extra years housing.
Photo Credit: Danny Morales
UCF chief of police Richard Beary spoke to the media on Thursday, along with university spokesman Grant Heston.
It was also released that on February 25, 2013 the would-be gunman was notified that his room was rekeyed for not paying his outstanding balance of $7,230.00.
It is still unclear how Seevakumaran regained acces to his room in the month leading to him plotting to “give them hell” and ultimately committing suicide in his Room 308 apartment in Tower I.
Members of the UCF Board of Trustees meet in the Live Oak Ballroom on the university’s main campus on Thursday, March 21 to discuss campus safety in the wake of the March, 18 suicide of James Seevakumaran and the subsequent evidence that showed the former student was planning an attack on the campus.
Speaking at the meeting was UCF Chief of Police Richard Beary, as well as the school’s spokesman Grant Heston. The two spoke for roughly 23 minutes to a room which consisted of university president John C. Hitt and multiple other trustees, including Harris Rosen and Ida J. Cook.
During the meeting Chief Beary gave the trustees a breakdown of how the situation was handled early Monday morning and updated them on where the campus police was at this point in the investigation. Also during the meeting trustee Rosen, whose son lives in Tower I where the incident occurred, suggested that room searches be conducted military-style.
“The inspection should be akin to what the I.G. does in the military,” said Rosen when the floor was open for comments. “I was inspected by the I.G. many times during my three years, it is a white gloves inspection and I think that kind of inspection is necessary.”
After the meeting, which had been planned prior to the events of March, 18, Heston and Beary both spoke to the media about any updates they had on relocation of students, the prior room check of Seevakumaran’s dormitory, and any leads on a possible motive.
“I don’t know that we’ll ever know a motive, that’s speculation.” said Chief Beary. “I hope but again in these type of situations that have happened in other parts of the country, when the bad guys dead all you have is speculation and I’m afraid that’s probably where we’ll end up.”
Police Chief Beary also mentioned during the meeting that he had received a call Monday from the FBI saying that the White House Situation Room wanted an update on what was going on at UCF.
“That phone call came in during the morning once we had discovered the IEDs,” said Beary. “Shortly thereafter then we had the FBI and ATF resources, so the phone call was actually good for me, it helped get manpower to me very rapidly.”
