A former Duke doctoral student sent a video referencing a mass shooting and an 800-page manifesto threatening members of the philosophy department at the University of California, Los Angeles on Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Matthew Harris, Graduate School ‘19, became a lecturer and postdoctoral fellow at UCLA after graduation, according to the Daily Bruin. Harris emailed the UCLA philosophy department links to his manifesto and videos, including one titled, “UCLA PHILOSOPHY (MASS SHOOTING),” the LA Times reported. He made references to race and used several profanities.
Harris had a now-terminated YouTube channel with more than 300 videos, most of which were uploaded Monday, according to the LA Times. One was the video that appeared to threaten a mass shooting at UCLA.
Another video, according to a screenshot taken by a Reddit user, mentioned Duke’s philosophy department and was titled, “DUKE UNIVERSITY PHILOSOPHY (CATASTROPHIC SHOOTING).” A Reddit user under the same thread wrote that Harris’ manifesto “mentions [Duke] countless times with threats.” Harris also mentioned Duke professors by name, according to another Reddit user.
The manifesto was circulated around social media as a Google Drive file that has now been made inaccessible.
Duke University Police Department Chief John Dailey told The Chronicle Tuesday that DUPD does not anticipate any threats to campus safety.
“There has been coordination throughout the night with law enforcement agencies out west concerning the individual,” Dailey wrote in an email. “His location is known and is not currently close to [North Carolina].”
Harris was taken into custody peacefully at 11:07 a.m. Tuesday after a three-hour-long barricade at his apartment, Boulder police said. Officials said his manifesto contained references to Boulder “in a university and schoolyard setting.”
The LA Times reported that Harris was let go by UCLA last year following complaints about his behavior. His term as a postdoctoral fellow was set to end in June.
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Milla Surjadi is a Trinity junior and a diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator of The Chronicle's 119th volume. She was previously editor-in-chief for Volume 118.