There is more to the story. Apparently there were people in the lab next door and they heard a loud noise, but didn't think to check on it. He was also in the lab from a previous class or something. The windows in the doors are pretty small, so you probably could hide in there if you wanted, plus they are always posting flyers over the windows too. You can read more here if you feel like it:
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/Stor...512342,00.html
Oh yeah, he was a Junior Mechanical Engineering student at 18, so he was probably one of those overachiever types who cannot accept failure. I hope he is in a better place. It is sad that he thought he had to resort to suicide.