Campus police opened fire after he stole pepper stray from an officer, blinded him, and began violently kicking him on the ground

Bartholomew Williams, 38, died at the California campus on Saturday

A student has been shot and killed at California State University by campus police was exhibiting 'superhuman strength' as he fought with officers, authorities said.

Bartholomew Williams, 38, died at the San Bernardino campus on Saturday night around 6.30pm, hours after a graduation ceremony took place.

'This is a tragic day for the Cal State San Bernardino community,' CSUSB President Tomas Morales said at a new conference Sunday. 'Words cannot express how truly saddened we are at this time. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family and our thoughts and prayers go out to all who knew him.'



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Fatal shooting: Campus police at California State University killed a 38-year-old graduate student on Saturday night

Jacked: Authorities said Bartholomew Williams exhibited 'superhuman' strength

Officers - two men and one woman - reportedly went to a dormitory in the University Village following reports of a disturbance.

They wanted to bring Williams, a 6-foot, 200-pound grad student, in for a psychological evaluation.

When they attempted to handcuff him, a fight broke out, according to S an Bernardino police Lt. Paul Williams.



'This became a prolonged, violent struggle between the suspect and the officers,' Williams told The Sun.

The battle went on up to seven minutes though investigators are still establishing the exact sequence of events.



Officers tried verbal commands with Williams, progressing to pepper spray and finally baton strikes that 'seemed to have no effect on the suspect.'

Williams attempted to get a baton at several points, and finally managed to steal the pepper spray from one officer then spraying him with it.

When that officer fell to the ground he began to kick him 'violently' in the head.



Fearing for the life of the officer on the ground, the remaining campus police opened fire.



A statement from CSU said that Williams, who had been studying educational instructional technology since last year, became aggressive.

Officers fired at the 38-year-old in the hallway of the dorm because they 'feared for their lives', campus police told CNN.

Unexplained: It is unclear whether the 38-year-old student was armed during the incident

Shot dead: The 38-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene and police were not looking for anyone else

Williams was pronounced dead at the scene while one police officer was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

It is unclear whether the student was armed during the incident. Police are not looking for any other suspects.

Students were told about the shooting via text message and phone calls. The campus was relatively quiet as many have already left for the Christmas holidays.