Oakland university shooter was hunting staff member refused to refund his tuition, police say

This photo released by the Alameda County Sheriff's Department shows One Goh, 43, who is suspected of killing seven people at Oikos University in Oakland, Calif. (AP/Alameda County Sheriff's Dept.)

OAKLAND, Calif. – The man accused of slaughtering seven people at Oakland's Oikos University was hoping to find and kill an administrator who no longer works at the school, police said Thursday.

One Goh -- who is reported to have confessed to the Monday killing spree -- was angry that the woman, whose name has not been released, refused him a full refund of his $6,000 tuition fees when he dropped out of his nursing classes late last year, the Oakland Tribune reported.

The woman's identity is being kept a secret due to concerns for her safety, but police said she left the school soon after Goh.

The news follows claims a day earlier that Oikos nursing director Ellen Cervellon was Goh's target. Both Cervellon and a close friend were quoted by media outlets saying she had been the target, but was absent from campus Monday morning.

When he failed to find the woman, Goh instead killed six students and a receptionist with a semiautomatic handgun, also wounding three others, before stealing a victim's car and driving to nearby supermarket where he admitted his crimes to staff and was arrested.

He has been charged with seven counts of murder and related offenses, and faces the death penalty. Arraigned Wednesday, he is next scheduled to appear in court April 30, when he is expected to enter a plea.

The husband of one victim, Efanye Chibuko, said Goh's poor behavior while he was a student at the school had been reported by his wife Doris, the class president, to staff.

"The school was aware of his violent tendencies," he said.

Also Thursday, police -- who are still trying to recover the murder weapon -- rushed to a trash can near the Oikos campus after a homeless man reported seeing a gun inside, but a search did not find a firearm. They are continuing to search waterways between the crime scene and arrest site.