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Roommate in UCF plot talks to WFTV; Police release video of gunman's room, 911 call

ORLANDO, Fla. — The roommate of a University of Central Florida student who police said plotted to go on a deadly rampage on campus spoke out in an interview with WFTV Tuesday.

Arabo Babakhani, who goes by "B-K," said he lived with James Oliver Seevakumaran, 30, since last semester.

"I've never had a weapon pointed directly in my face before, I wasn't … I wasn't thinking about being scared. I was just thinking, 'I ain't going out like that,'" said Babakhani.

He spoke to Channel 9 Tuesday.

"I did not expect my roommate to have any sort of weapons like that, being that he was so quiet and reserved," Babakhani said.

Campus police said Monday that Seevakumaran was armed with two guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a backpack filled with explosives and a plan to attack other students as they fled the seven-story Tower 1 dorm where he lived.

Babakhani would have been the first victim. As he opened the door to leave, Seevakumaran pointed a rifle in his face.

“He raises the rifle toward me and I just slammed the door in his face so he can’t get a shot off,” said Babakhani.

Babakhani said Seevakumaran never said anything to him.

“He made … all he did was he made eye contact with me, and if you knew him, he would never ever, ever make eye contact. He avoids eye contact purposefully," he said.

Babakhani, a 24-year-old veteran who served in Afghanistan with the Air Force, ran to the bathroom of their shared apartment and called 911.

“He just pulled the fire alarm and he’s got a gun out,” Babakhani said to the 911 dispatcher.

A short time later, he said he heard pops from his roommate's bedroom.

"I had no idea he had a second firearm. I had no idea there was explosives. I had no knowledge of any of that," Babakhani said.

At a news conference, police showed off extra ammunition clips and shooting training videos the suspect had shipped directly to his dorm that arrived Tuesday.

Newly released video from UCF shows police storming the third floor of the Tower 1 dorm.

With guns drawn, officers worked to clear the suite where the shooter and his roommates lived.

The video shows officers as they opened Seevakumaran's dorm room and found his lifeless body on the ground next to two weapons -- a .22-caliber assault rifle and .45-caliber pistol.

"When they went in there, they didn't know what they were going to find on the other side," said University of Central Florida Police Chief Richard Beary.

Tuesday, officials also revealed Seevakumaran sketched out his deadly plan on paper and each step was crossed out as it happened.

"Last thing on the list – ‘Give him hell,’” Beary said.

As police stood guard over the home the two shared together, the man who's been dubbed the campus hero is still shocked his roommate didn't kill him.

"Even if he just had the gun up part of the way he could have shot me. I think he just hesitated and had a change of heart," said Babakhani.

No other students were hurt.

Police had not determined a motive for the planned massacre. Investigators only said Seevakumaran spent his last night alone, at a bar, drinking.

Seevakumaran's family released a short statement saying, "James was a loner and did not have a history of violence. The family does not wish to make any further comments to the media and are requesting privacy during this difficult time."