UCLA canceled in-person classes Tuesday after a former lecturer and postdoctoral fellow sent a video referencing a mass shooting and an 800-page manifesto with “specific threats” to members of the university’s philosophy department Monday.
Several emails from department leaders, obtained by The Times, inform students and faculty that Matthew Harris made threats toward the philosophy department and people in it. In some of the emails, sent over the course of Monday evening, department heads recommend moving to virtual learning, and multiple instructors did so, alerting students that in-person classes would be canceled.
A campus alert sent shortly after midnight stated that authorities didn’t have “specific information” Harris was in California.
“Nonetheless, out of an abundance of caution, all classes will be held remotely tomorrow, Feb 1,” according to the alert. “We will keep you updated on developments.”
Sherrilyn Roush, UCLA’s philosophy department chair, had told faculty members to avoid holding in-person classes “until Harris’ location is determined,” the Daily Bruin reported.
According to one email sent by a philosophy instructor to students, Harris’ messages included “a video entitled ‘UCLA Philosophy Mass Shooting’ and an 800-page manifesto with specific threats towards some members of our department.”
“In light of this, we will continue to have discussion through Zoom until the authorities say that it is safe,” the email said. “I will keep you updated on this situation. But I would avoid being anywhere near Dodd Hall or the philosophy department until further notice.”
Reports of Harris’ video and manifesto quickly circulated on social media platforms such as Twitter and Reddit, where students and others expressed fear for their safety and criticized officials for not informing the campus as a whole.
In many posts, students said they were terrified and frustrated by what they described as a lack of clear communication by officials.
Steve Ritea, UCLA’s chief media and executive communications officer, said university police are aware of “a concerning email and posting sent to some members of the UCLA community today and actively engaged with out-of-state law enforcement and federal agencies.”
Ritea did not provide further information Monday night.
According to an email sent to members of the psychology department and obtained by The Times, UCLA police told a member of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology that “at this time we’re not concerned about anything happening.”
Harris’ YouTube channel contained more than 300 videos, the majority of which were uploaded Monday. By midnight, the channel displayed a message saying that the account had been terminated.
A video titled “UCLA PHILOSOPHY (MASS SHOOTING)” was posted Sunday and contained disturbing imagery, including footage of the 2017 mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival and clips from the 2003 movie “Zero Day,” which is loosely based on the Columbine High School mass shooting.
The Times obtained a partial copy of Harris’ email to the UCLA philosophy department.
Article
Archive of last few videos on his channel before it's termination
(and an archive.org link)
Manifesto
Dissertation
I should add that Matthew was a instructor and was put on leave in spring 2021. He allegedly sent nudes to a student and harassed others, but disappeared before the law could get him. His manifesto also mentions his hatred for CU Boulder, Colorado's premiere college, and explicitly threatens to shoot them up too. His Bruinwalk (UCLA's RateMyProfessor) page has a few interesting reviews on it.
There were reports of an African American male walking around a sorority neighborhood with a gun, but it hasn't been confirmed to be Matthew. All of UCLA is going remote Tuesday.
UPDATE: Confirmed arrested in Boulder after nearby elementary school evacuated. Bomb defusing robots were rumored to be on the scene. CU instituted a shelter in place for the side of campus nearest to Matthew, which has now been lifted.
Several emails from department leaders, obtained by The Times, inform students and faculty that Matthew Harris made threats toward the philosophy department and people in it. In some of the emails, sent over the course of Monday evening, department heads recommend moving to virtual learning, and multiple instructors did so, alerting students that in-person classes would be canceled.
A campus alert sent shortly after midnight stated that authorities didn’t have “specific information” Harris was in California.
“Nonetheless, out of an abundance of caution, all classes will be held remotely tomorrow, Feb 1,” according to the alert. “We will keep you updated on developments.”
Sherrilyn Roush, UCLA’s philosophy department chair, had told faculty members to avoid holding in-person classes “until Harris’ location is determined,” the Daily Bruin reported.
According to one email sent by a philosophy instructor to students, Harris’ messages included “a video entitled ‘UCLA Philosophy Mass Shooting’ and an 800-page manifesto with specific threats towards some members of our department.”
“In light of this, we will continue to have discussion through Zoom until the authorities say that it is safe,” the email said. “I will keep you updated on this situation. But I would avoid being anywhere near Dodd Hall or the philosophy department until further notice.”
Reports of Harris’ video and manifesto quickly circulated on social media platforms such as Twitter and Reddit, where students and others expressed fear for their safety and criticized officials for not informing the campus as a whole.
In many posts, students said they were terrified and frustrated by what they described as a lack of clear communication by officials.
Steve Ritea, UCLA’s chief media and executive communications officer, said university police are aware of “a concerning email and posting sent to some members of the UCLA community today and actively engaged with out-of-state law enforcement and federal agencies.”
Ritea did not provide further information Monday night.
According to an email sent to members of the psychology department and obtained by The Times, UCLA police told a member of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology that “at this time we’re not concerned about anything happening.”
Harris’ YouTube channel contained more than 300 videos, the majority of which were uploaded Monday. By midnight, the channel displayed a message saying that the account had been terminated.
A video titled “UCLA PHILOSOPHY (MASS SHOOTING)” was posted Sunday and contained disturbing imagery, including footage of the 2017 mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival and clips from the 2003 movie “Zero Day,” which is loosely based on the Columbine High School mass shooting.
The Times obtained a partial copy of Harris’ email to the UCLA philosophy department.
Article
Archive of last few videos on his channel before it's termination
(and an archive.org link)
Manifesto
Dissertation
I should add that Matthew was a instructor and was put on leave in spring 2021. He allegedly sent nudes to a student and harassed others, but disappeared before the law could get him. His manifesto also mentions his hatred for CU Boulder, Colorado's premiere college, and explicitly threatens to shoot them up too. His Bruinwalk (UCLA's RateMyProfessor) page has a few interesting reviews on it.
There were reports of an African American male walking around a sorority neighborhood with a gun, but it hasn't been confirmed to be Matthew. All of UCLA is going remote Tuesday.
UPDATE: Confirmed arrested in Boulder after nearby elementary school evacuated. Bomb defusing robots were rumored to be on the scene. CU instituted a shelter in place for the side of campus nearest to Matthew, which has now been lifted.
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