{
  "id": "2015-11-04-uc-merced-stabbing",
  "slug": "uc-merced-stabbing-2015-11-04",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of California, Merced",
    "shortName": "UC Merced",
    "state": "CA",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "UC Merced Alert",
    "enrollment": 7000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2015-11-04",
    "type": "stabbing",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "Student stabs four people before being shot and killed by campus police",
    "headlinePublic": "Student stabs four people before being shot and killed by campus police",
    "summary": "On November 4, 2015, 18-year-old freshman Faisal Mohammad stabbed [four people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Merced_stabbing_attack) with a hunting knife on the UC Merced campus before being shot and killed by campus police officers. The attack began at approximately 8:00 a.m. PST in a Classroom Building 2 lecture and continued across campus, prompting a [lockdown response](https://news.ucmerced.edu/news/2015/update-four-stabbed-uc-merced-campus-suspect-deceased) coordinated largely through Twitter. All four victims survived; the FBI later concluded Mohammad acted alone but had been inspired by ISIL propaganda.",
    "outcome": "Suspect Faisal Mohammad shot and killed by UC Merced police officers at approximately 8:18 a.m. PST. Four victims (two students, one staff member, one construction worker) treated and recovered. Classes canceled the following day. FBI investigation revealed manifesto, ISIL flag, and pre-attack planning notes in suspect's backpack.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 4
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2015-11-04T08:10:00-08:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Campus is locked down. Do not come to campus. If you're on campus, stay where you are.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Merced_stabbing_attack",
      "sourceDescription": "Wikipedia / UC Merced Twitter feed",
      "annotations": [
        "Posted on the official UC Merced Twitter account approximately 10 minutes after the attack began at 8:00 a.m. PST on November 4, 2015",
        "Twitter-first alert sequence reflects UC Merced's then-newer campus and emphasis on social media as a primary notification channel",
        "Two-sentence structure addresses both off-campus and on-campus populations in a single message"
      ],
      "characterCount": 86
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2015-11-04T09:15:00-08:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Campus is closed. Classes are canceled. Do not come to campus.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Merced_stabbing_attack",
      "sourceDescription": "Wikipedia / UC Merced Twitter feed",
      "annotations": [
        "Sent after the suspect was confirmed dead but before victims' conditions were known",
        "Repeats the 'Do not come to campus' instruction verbatim from the first alert, providing consistency",
        "Class cancellation message functions as a partial all-clear without lifting all restrictions"
      ],
      "characterCount": 62
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2015-11-04T11:30:00-08:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://news.ucmerced.edu/news/2015/update-four-stabbed-uc-merced-campus-suspect-deceased",
      "sourceDescription": "UC Merced Newsroom",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2015-11-04T14:00:00-08:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Students, faculty and staff are allowed to leave campus. Avoid Scholars Lane.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Merced_stabbing_attack",
      "sourceDescription": "Wikipedia / UC Merced Twitter feed",
      "annotations": [
        "Final message lifting movement restrictions while maintaining a perimeter around Scholars Lane, where the suspect was shot",
        "Scholars Lane runs through the heart of UC Merced's compact main campus",
        "Sent approximately six hours after the initial lockdown began"
      ],
      "characterCount": 77
    }
  ],
  "context": "The [UC Merced stabbing attack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Merced_stabbing_attack) was the first major campus violence incident at UC's youngest campus, which had opened in 2005. Faisal Mohammad, an 18-year-old computer science and engineering freshman from Santa Clara, had been removed from a study group days earlier; investigators later found a [two-page handwritten plan](https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sacramento/news/press-releases/update-on-investigation-at-university-of-california-merced) describing his intent to restrain victims with zip ties, seize a police officer's gun, and continue the attack in the residence halls. The attack began inside a Classroom Building 2 lecture, where Mohammad stabbed a fellow student before fleeing across campus and attacking three more people, including construction worker Byron Price, who intervened during the attack and was stabbed and whom officials credited with helping save lives. Mohammad was shot and killed by UC Merced police officers at approximately 8:18 a.m. PST. The university's response leaned heavily on Twitter, which functioned as the primary public-facing alert channel. The [FBI later released](https://abc30.com/post/faisal-mohammad-uc-merced-stabbing-manifesto-fbi-attack/8024347/) Mohammad's manifesto and concluded he had been inspired by ISIL propaganda but acted alone with no foreign or domestic ties.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Twitter-first alert sequencing was unusual for 2015 and reflected UC Merced's status as a digitally native campus",
    "All four victims survived in part because of a construction worker (Byron Price) who intervened during the attack and was himself stabbed",
    "The first public Twitter alert was posted at approximately 8:10 a.m. PST, roughly ten minutes after the attack began around 8:00 a.m. PST",
    "The alert sequence distinguished between active danger and operational congestion, a nuance often missing from campus alerts",
    "FBI investigation revealed substantial pre-attack planning, including a written manifesto with targets and ISIL imagery"
  ],
  "responseTimeMinutes": 10,
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "University of California, Merced stabbing attack (Wikipedia)",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Merced_stabbing_attack",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "UPDATE: Four Stabbed on UC Merced Campus, Suspect Deceased (UC Merced Newsroom)",
      "url": "https://news.ucmerced.edu/news/2015/update-four-stabbed-uc-merced-campus-suspect-deceased",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Update on Investigation at University of California, Merced (FBI)",
      "url": "https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sacramento/news/press-releases/update-on-investigation-at-university-of-california-merced",
      "type": "after-action-report"
    },
    {
      "title": "UC Merced stabbing: Student fatally shot after stabbing 4 (CNN)",
      "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/04/us/university-california-merced-stabbings/index.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "stabbing",
    "active-attacker",
    "campus-lockdown",
    "twitter-alert",
    "uc-system",
    "california",
    "merced",
    "isil-inspired",
    "ucpd"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-20",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}