Oikos University was shocked by an on-campus shooting Monday morning.

Oikos University, located in east Oakland, California, is a little-known private Christian university that was thrust into the news Monday when a gunman opened fire there, killing at least five people and wounding a number of others, according to ABC News.

Local TV coverage showed victims being brought out of a building on stretchers shortly after gunfire broke out at about 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time.

Police were posted around the university Monday afternoon, and some broke glass doors and stormed into the building, reported the San Francisco Chronicle's SFGate.

The assailant, who San Francisco Weekly said opened fire in a classroom, shooting one person in the head and shooting a number of other individuals, was described as an Asian man in his 40s, of heavy stature and wearing khakis, SFGate reported.

Here are five things you should know about Oikos University:

1. It is a very focused school: Offering degrees theology, music, nursing and Asian medicine, Oikos is not your typical sprawling university with a wide range of courses offered. It is chiefly a nursing school, though the Oikos website has listings of musical performances and other cultural offerings scheduled to take place at the university, and it also has a Christian foundation, hence the music and theology majors. 

2. Christianity is at the heart of the Oikos experience: Oikos students are encouraged to grow not just academically, but also spiritually, as the Christian faith is the core upon which the school's offerings are built. As Oikos University President Jongin Kim says in a message on the school's website: "At Oikos University, students are given the opportunity to obtain a Christian education that is based on solid Christian doctrine and ideology. Our main goal is to foster spiritual Christian leaders who abide by God's intentions and to expand God's nation through them." The first institutional objective of the university, as listed on its site, is as follows: "To demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the Bible and an understanding of Christian doctrine."

3. The school is geared toward Korean Americans: Though Oikos is an equal-opportunity institution of higher learning, students there are predominantly of Korean descent. The Korean American community has a strong vein of Christianity running through it, and Oikos is one of the proud outgrowths of the large Korean American Christian base in the Bay Area.

4. It is a very affordable school: Oikos offers its students a good education at a low price, with a bachelor's degree program costing between $2,200 and $3,100 per semester. Based in Oakland, an area whose economy has taken a major hit since the economy turned sour several years ago, it provides a rare opportunity for under-privileged students to get a leg up and build a career for themselves.

5. It gets mixed reviews: A number of Oikos students have posted their impressions of the school at AllNurses.com. The reviews run the gamut. One poster was turned off by the school: "I visited them and talked to the adviser. I wasn't impressed by their school at all." But another student gave it a good read: "Are you in the class @ oikos..? I am.. Just started.. Teacher is very thorough and so far so good.. Have good payment plans too."

Source:IBTimes