The shooter in Thursday's murder-suicide at the University of South Carolina (USC) has been identified as the victim's ex-wife.

According to the State, Richland County Coroner Gary Watts confirmed 46-year-old Sunghee Kwon shot and killer Raja Fayad, 45, before killing herself. She apparently shot herself in the abdomen and died at the scene, the Arnold Public School of Health building.

South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) spokesman Thom Berry still would not confirm the Hi-Point 9mm semi-automatic handgun recovered at the scene was the murder weapon. The gun typically holds eight or 10 rounds and the one found at the time was empty. The coroner said Fayad had "multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body."

"We are doing extensive testing on it," Berry told the State of the gun.

Before disclosing the shooter, police had said Fayad had a relationship with the person who killed him. Fayad and Kwon were once married and continued to live together after their divorce, an arrangement that ended recently. It is still not clear what led Kwon to murder Fayad before killing herself.

USC is now entering a time of healing and the school's president, Harry Pastides, released an open letter to the campus community. He encouraged anyone in need to get in touch with the USC Counseling Center.

"I would like to thank the university's extended family from around the country who have been in touch with us to express their sympathy. This includes parents of our students, our alumni and many others. I would also like to thank Governor Haley and Mayor Benjamin for their expression of support and solidarity with us; as well as the many university presidents from around the state and nation who've reached out to us," Pastides wrote. "A special thank you to the Clemson family for wearing garnet and black today as an expression of support. Thank you very much for that.

"I'd like to thank the University of South Carolina police department and the many law enforcement agencies for their prompt and professional responses. While our university family felt shock, we also felt safe as a result of their outstanding efforts. They also helped us communicate promptly via text, email and other social media forms. I believe that our community was, and felt, very well informed. We will learn from our experiences, work to be better, while praying that we never have to implement these protocols again."

Related