The father of a student who was expelled from the University of Iowa (UI) after "threatening" to shoot his professor online has said that his son did not mean his message and the family will appeal UI's decision, the Qianjiang Evening News reported Sunday.

Ni Hanxiang said he was expelled a year before his graduation and had to leave the US immediately, via a Sina Weibo account for Chinese students in the US on Tuesday.

In the Weibo posts the 22-year-old said that he got in trouble due to posts on Instagram, a photo-sharing service, in which he showed off his new gun and captioned a picture of the school's library with "I've been working so hard this semester, if the school still doesn't let me pass, I will let the professor feel the fear like Lu Gang."Lu Gang was a Chinese student who killed five people and paralyzed a sixth in a 1991 shooting spree on the UI campus.

Ni claimed that he was visited by US police on February 1, and they asked him about his posts and confiscated his gun. The officers also told him that he would have to meet with UI officials on February 3 and that he would be free to go after the meeting. According to the Weibo, at the meeting he was questioned about his posts and told he had "violated regulations and was dismissed."Ni said he was then escorted to Chicago O'Hare Airport by two Immigration Bureau officers.

In his Instagram profile, the Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province resident described himself as a lover of travel, racing cars and taking photos.

His father told the Qianjiang Evening News that it was just a joke and he would resort to legal measures. "He was a good student and has won scholarships while he was studying in the US. He has no vicious intentions," he said.

Local police have not charged Ni with a crime, The Gazette, a US newspaper, reported on Wednesday.