Keith Coffman

DENVER, (Reuters) – A former University of California at Los Angeles instructor was charged with posting threats of violence on the campus. The threat disrupted a day of classes. He was then arrested by Colorado authorities after a dispute with police officials, officials stated.

Matthew Christopher Harris (31) was the subject of an 800-page manifesto claiming to be about mass shootings, bombings, that Harris allegedly sent to UCLA philosophy students and professors, according to police.

University officials cancelled in-person classes on Tuesday for all 31,000 Los Angeles students, UCLA officials stated in a statement. Meanwhile, Harris was being hunted by law enforcement officers.

UCLA campus police traced the former instructor to an apartment building in Boulder, Colorado, across the street from the University of Colorado’s flagship campus, and alerted authorities there, Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold told a news conference.

Harris was alerted Tuesday morning that the police were encircling the apartment. He sent “additional threats” to several people, which police stated “elevated level of concern”.

Boulder police responded by evacuating a local elementary school, and sending out reverse-911 phone calls to advise residents of the area to stay indoors.

Herold claimed that Harris was in contact by law enforcement negotiators via telephone. Harris eventually surrendered to them without any incident four hours later after the siege began.

Residents of Boulder were rattled by the heavy presence of police, located just two miles away from a grocery shop where a gunman shot 10 people last year.

Michael Dougherty (Boulder District Attorney) said Harris was being held on state charges. But, because the threats were multiple states, Harris could also face federal charges.

Harris wanted to buy a firearm in Colorado but was turned down by Dougherty after a background investigation revealed that Harris had been subject to a California protective order.

Herold stated that the manifesto was filled with thousands of violent references, such as allusions to bombs and schoolyard slaughter. Police also said that Harris had been posting threats videos online.

Los Angeles’ television station KABC said that the footage included hundreds of clips including the mass shooting at a Las Vegas music fest in 2017 and the massacre at Columbine High School, Littleton in Colorado in 1999.

Police didn’t immediately reveal the specific grievances Harris could have voiced in response to threats he made.

UCLA officials stated that classes in person would resume on Wednesday, now that Harris is in custody.