ucla

Former UCLA student who allegedly threatened violence is arrested in Colorado

Feb. 1, 2022
UCLA canceled in-person classes Tuesday after it received threats from a former postdoctoral fellow.

A person accused of threatening a shooting attack at UCLA is in custody in Colorado.

KABC-TV reports that Matthew Christopher Harris was arrested without incident after a standoff at his Boulder, Colorado home.

Boulder Police began an investigation after receiving the threatening emails and an 800-page manifesto from UCLA, which had tracked Harris to Boulder.

The manifesto had thousands of references to violence, and Boulder police learned that Harris had tried to buy a handgun in November at a store in Jefferson County, Colo.

In Los Angeles, UCLA canceled all in-person classes for Tuesday and switched to 100 percent remote instruction after threats were made toward members of the university's philosophy department by a former postdoctoral fellow.

Students say Harris, who is also a former lecturer, sent an email to his former philosophy department threatening to hurt faculty and staff. Harris posted hundreds of videos online Monday, including one showing video of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas and the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School.

UCLA's administrative vice-chancellor, Michael J. Beck, released a statement that read, in part:

"I am greatly relieved to share that law enforcement officers in Colorado have taken into custody the individual who made threats against some members of our UCLA community yesterday. While we will continue with our plans to keep instruction remote today, with this development, we will return to in-person instruction tomorrow."

About the Author

Mike Kennedy | Senior Editor

Mike Kennedy, senior editor, has written for AS&U on a wide range of educational issues since 1999.

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