Credits: University of Central Florida
Arabo Babakhani thought his roommate at University of Central Florida was just a quiet loner until James Oliver Seevakumaran aimed a gun at him Monday in what was intended to be the beginning of a yet another school massacre, according to a report in today’s UCF’s Knightley News.
“I just thought he kept to himself a lot and, I don’t know, I just thought he was a quiet introverted person. The only time he made solid eye contact with me was when he was pointing the gun at me,”Babakhani said.
What would you have done at this point had you been in Babakhani’s shoes?
What actions did Babakhani take to save his life and possibly the lives of his fellow students?
1. He took immediate action. He slammed the door to his room and called 911. He told Knightly News reporter Christie Jauch he slammed his door shut to protect himself. “As he was raising the gun, he didn’t get it all the way up… I slammed the door on him before he could pop anything off,” he said.
2. He continued to protect himself in his room, hiding behind his furniture. “I got away from the door in case he barred into it. I crouched in front of my chair in case he fired into the door. I crouched in front of my chest of draws In case he fired into a wall,” he said.
3. He stayed put and waited until police arrived to rescue him.
The episode began early Monday, just after midnight, when Seevakumaran pulled a gun on one of his roommates, who took cover and called police. Around the same time, Seevakumaran pulled a fire alarm, apparently to get other students out in the open, university Police Chief Richard Beary said.
What was it that caused Seevakumerian to take his own life shortly after pulling the fire alarm instead of following his plan to open fire on the exiting students?
The quick response by police derailed Seevakumaran’s plans. He shot and killed himself, leaving behind an arsenal that included homemade bombs, and writings that showed how meticulously he planned his attack.
“His timeline got off,” Beary said. “We think the rapid response of law enforcement may have changed his ability to think quickly on his feet.”
Would the police have been ready to deal with the possibility that the fire alarm was sounded as a ploy to massacre the students? Not without the quick thinking by Arabo Babakhani they wouldn’t
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