LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Cal State Northridge officials confirmed Tuesday that Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley, attended the university in the 1970s.
According to CSUN, Paddock "attended the university, completing a degree in Business Administration in 1977."
After learning of the connection, "CSUN's chief of police was contacted, and university officials shared this information with investigators in Las Vegas.
"While no words can truly express the loss and sadness the nation feels today, the CSUN community offers its profound sympathies to those affected by the heinous violence that occurred in Las Vegas," according to the university.
Paddock attended Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, graduating in 1971, and previously attended Richard Byrd Middle School.
Former Los Angeles City Councilman and state Sen. Richard Alarcon told the Los Angeles Daily News he knew Paddock while growing up and recognized his face when his picture was released after Sunday's shooting.
"I just recognized his face, his hair color, his eyes," Alarcon said. "He always had big eyes when he was a kid. The face was recognizable.
"... He was an average kid, very pleasant," he told the paper. "He wasn't overbearing. ... He didn't have the most outspoken personality. We're talking about when we were 8 to 12 years old. He was just an average, American kid."
