A student from China is set to be deported after he was reported for alarming behavior that included the purchase of two semi-automatic weapons. The international student, Wenliang Sun, was attending college at the University of Central Florida (UCF) on a non-immigrant student visa when peers began noticing a change in his behavior. Campus police were alerted to Sun’s behavior by his roommate in January, when they were also informed that he had altered his appearance. They opened an investigation and Sun was placed on their radar.
Red flags began to go up when Sun avoided attending classes and stopped leaving his apartment. According to those familiar with him, he also paid nearly $70,000 in cash for a car and began referring to one of his weapons as a “sniper rifle.”
#Ucf police say Wenliang Sun, a Chinese national enrolled at school, will be sent back to #China after concerns about his recent purchase of 2 semi-automatic rifles, a #bipod and #scope. Also recently purchased a $70-K #Corvette. Failing to attend class got him booted. @WESH pic.twitter.com/NKkGkQ3g07
— Greg Fox (@GregFoxWESH) March 29, 2018
According to police, when they initially visited Sun’s off-campus apartment, he refused to allow the police to store his rifle for safekeeping. Sun was in violation of his rental agreement by possessing the firearm, but he told police that the gun was in a safe storage facility. Since he had purchased the firearm legally, police were unable to confiscate it. After that visit, Sun bought another gun and his erratic behavior continued.
Sun also frequented the gun range, where he would practice his shooting while ignoring calls from the immigration office about the status of his visa. Although he hadn’t made any threats and authorities found no evidence that he was planning anything, Sun presented a possible danger to fellow students at UCF.
Oddly enough, he wasn’t ordered to be deported because of his suspicious behavior. Sun violated his student visa when he stopped going to class. Since he failed to return calls to immigration officials, his visa was revoked. Sun is currently being held at a detention facility after a judge ruled that he will return to China. He will not be allowed to reenter the United States for ten years.
The United States is full of weirdos, some who own firearms. That does not mean that every weirdo who owns a firearm is a threat. However, in this case, police believe that Sun would have carried out acts of violence had he not been picked up. His behavior had become alarming enough for his roommate to take notice.
Police have assured gun owners attending the University of Central Florida that they won’t be disturbed in light of this incident. Behavior and patterns played a large role in the suspicion surrounding Wenliang Sun. With mass shootings fresh on the minds of many Americans, remaining vigilant is important. It’s not impossible to support the right to bear arms while keeping an eye out for suspicious behavior.
Nikolas Cruz was said to have exhibited disturbing behavior before his shooting spree at a high school that killed 17, but the reports were not followed up on. This time, luckily, law enforcement officials in Florida were able to investigate and take seriously an incident that could have resulted in a massive loss of life. When that much damage can be caused by one individual, there’s no room for hindsight being 20/20.
