Florida college student to be deported after skipping class, buying 'sniper rifle' and dyeing hair: report
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wenliang Sun, 26, is scheduled to be deported after changing his appearance (pictured above before, left, and after) and buying a high-powered weapon, authorities said. (UCF Police Department)
A University of Central Florida international student who abruptly changed his appearance and called his high-powered weapon a "sniper rifle" will be deported to China, an immigration judge has ruled.
Wenliang Sun, 26, violated the terms of his F-1 visa by not attending classes, police said -- an offense that would normally lead to a slow process of notices and warnings.
But officials said he was fast-tracked for deportation because of a series of sudden "red flags," including dyeing his hair blond, alarming his roommates, and buying a $70,000 Chevrolet Corvette in cash with his father's money.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“In my country, that is a cheap car,” Sun told detectives investigating reports of his strange behavior, according to a police report.
One of the seized high-powered weapons and ammunition. (UCF Police Department)
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School officials first reached out to cops Feb. 1 after reports from Sun's friends and roommates that he had changed dramatically, according to local reports.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sun legally owned a LWRC 300 Blackout rifle and ammunition, as well as a .308 Ruger Precision caliber rifle equipped with a bipod and scope, police said. He also had a hunting license.
But Sun's predilection for calling his weapon a "sniper rifle" instead of a hunting rifle alarmed authorities, UCFPD Chief Richard Beary said, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Authorities said the student referred to his weapon as a 'sniper rifle' rather than a hunting rifle. (UCF Police Department)
So did Sun's statement that he liked to “play with" and "look at" his weapons, according to a police report.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When Sun lost his non-immigrant visa status by not attending classes, he also lost his right to own weapons under federal law.
"Some of the [investigators] with a lot of years of experience … walked away and said, 'We just saved a bunch of lives'"
An immigration judge ordered his deportation on Mar. 21, the Orlando Sentinel reported. He was being held Thursday at Baker County Detention Center in northern Florida.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Authorities said that even though Sun did not make any threats or attempt to harm anyone, he still posed a major risk to student safety.
Aurora, Co. movie theater gunman James Holmes dyed his hair bright orange before his killing spree, and also abruptly stopped attending his neuroscience program.
“Some of the [investigators] with a lot of years of experience … walked away and said, ‘we just saved a bunch of lives,’ ” Beary told the paper. “There’s no doubt about it.”