Man behind US varsity killing of Indian origin

Halder wore a bulletproof vest and a wig glued on ‘‘a kind of WW II Army helmet’’ as he walked the halls of the university’s Peter B. Lewis building which houses the business school, and fired hundreds of rounds, police chief Edward Lohn said. ‘‘There is a trail of blood throughout. It was a cat-and-mouse game,’’ Lohn said.

Norman Wallace, a 30-year-old graduate student was killed in the rampage. An Indian student at the university was among those at whom he fired but missed. The two injured, a 32-year-old man and a 46-year-old woman were released from the hospital yesterday, authorities said.

Halder was himself shot and wounded in the shoulder by riot police who rushed to the scene. He was released into police custody yesterday, a hospital spokesman said. Prosecutors were determining what charges to file against him. Halder, according to reports, lived in the heart of Cleveland’s Little Italy neighbourhood about half-a-mile from the university campus. Some neighbours described him as an unfriendly man who would walk down the middle of the road apparently to avoid talking to people.

He graduated from Case Western in 1999 with a Master’s degree in business administration. Halder had sued a university computer lab employee who was in the building during the shooting spree but escaped in the standoff, for having ‘‘added and deleted things’’ from his personal website. The suit was dismissed and Halder lost an appeal a month ago, university President Edward Hundert said.

Citing the ‘‘awe-inspiring’’ bravery of law enforcement officers and outreach of the Cleveland and university communities, Hundert expressed ‘‘incredible relief’’ that those in the university at the time were safely evacuated from and reunited with their families.

A candle light vigil is being held today at the campus to mourn the shooting victim Wallace, a popular student at the Weatherhead School of Management. (PTI)