A retired California State University budget and finance director was stabbed to death in a parking lot Monday morning.

Police found Steven Shek Keung Chan, 57, inside his silver Infiniti bleeding from the head and with wounds throughout his body around 8.30am.

Efforts to save him failed and Chan, of Hacienda Heights, died at the scene.

A backpack was found under the car, containing a knife-like weapon, items that could be deployed in a kidnapping and an incendiary device, Fullerton police Lt. Jon Radus said.

'It was basically like a bottle with flammable liquid and a potential igniter' but it had not been set off, Radus said.

Police announced they were continuing their hunt for the attacker Tuesday.

The stabbing happened on the first day of the school year, when campus police were filming active shooter drills to prepare students and staff for emergencies.

An admissions officer at California State University, Fullerton, was found stabbed to death in this car Monday

Police say the victim in his late 50s was found on the first day of the semester inside a car in a campus parking lot with stab wounds

Orange County coroners are pictured removing the body of the stabbing victim from the parking lot where he was found

The 911 caller described the attacker they saw run away as a man in his 20s with black hair, wearing black pants and black shirt.

The suspected killer was last seen running north on Langsdorf Drive and east on Nutwood Avenue near the Marriott Hotel.

'Do not confront suspect,' the the police department said.

The attacker targeted Chen specifically although investigators were still trying to determine the motive, Radus said.

Investigators said they were also not aware of any previous threats made to the faculty member.

From 2009 to 2017, Chan was the university's director of budget and finance and student services for university extended education, the university said.

He returned to campus as a special consultant in early 2019 'to provide his sage guidance and wisdom,' university President Fram Virjee said in a statement.

Virjee said he did not know Chan personally 'but over the past few hours, in providing a shoulder to lean on for those who were close to him, it is clear that he was beloved for his commitment to and passion for both Cal State Fullerton and our Titan Family.'

CSUF's new academic year began Monday although no students were on campus because weekend classes don't start until Saturday and weekday classes until Monday, the school said.

The attack came as campus police were filming active-shooter scenarios in Pollack Library and other locations as part of emergency preparation. The filming was canceled after the attack.

The suspect was described as a man in his mid-20s wearing a black shirt, black pants and with black hair. He is still at large

Authorities do not know a motive but believe it was a targeted attack

The nearly 40,000-student commuter school in the middle of its host city in Orange County has the largest enrollment in the 23-campus California State University system. It is well known in the sports world for producing nationally ranked baseball teams and major leaguers including Justin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Khris Davis of the Oakland Athletics.

But it has a grimmer history as well.

In 1976, a custodian with a history of mental illness opened fire with a rifle in the school library, killing seven people and wounding two others. Edward Allaway was convicted of murder but then found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a mental hospital.

In 1984, physics professor Edward Cooperman was shot and killed at school by a former student, 21-year-old Minh Van Lam, who served less than two years in prison. He said the shooting was an accident.