Police: Santa Monica gunman acted alone, killing 4
A series of bloody confrontations ended with police slaying gunman on campus. Several motorists were shot along the way.
(Photo: Reed Saxon, AP)In a series of violent confrontations Friday, a gunman with a semiautomatic rifle killed four people and wounded at least five others before being shot dead by police inside the Santa Monica College library, police said.
Santa Monica Police Sgt. Richard Lewis said in a news briefing late Friday that a lone gunman carried out the shootings, which resulted in nine crime scenes that spanned several blocks.
"It's a horrific event, and everyone wishes it hadn't happened," Lewis told the press.
Lewis also confirmed a "person of interest," who was taken into custody earlier in the day, "has been released and is not a suspect."
One of the dead was shot outside the library of the two-year college, where students were studying for or taking final exams.
The gunman, who was not immediately identified, was described as white or Latino with curly hair and 20 to 30 years old. Witnesses said he was dressed in black, wore body armor and a helmet and brandished a military-style assault rifle, a shotgun, a handgun and an ammunition belt.
He was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police in the library as students dived for cover or ran for safety. Beforehand, students, many wearing headphones, either did not hear or ignored several "pops."
The 38-acre main campus remained locked down throughout the afternoon while the bomb squad examined suspicious bags the gunman left behind. The lockdown was lifted late Friday, but the school remains closed.
Three women in a car were shot and wounded during what the Santa Monica police called a "series of random encounters." One later died at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Another victim was in critical condition and one was in fair condition Friday night, the university hospital said.
Three other women, including one shot in a car, were treated for minor injuries at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. One had shrapnel-type injuries and the two others had injuries not related to gunfire. All were treated and released.
The series of incidents -- Santa Monica police said at least nine -- began when a gunman shot up and set fire to a home located about a mile from campus.
Priscilla Morales cries as she is consoled by a parking enforcement officer Friday, in Santa Monica, Calif. Morales was in the library at Santa Monica College, where a gunman who allegedly killed at least four people with an assault-style rifle was shot to death in a gunfight with police.
Two bodies were found in the house on Yorkshire Avenue, a fire department spokesman told the Associated Press. At least one of the two men died from gunshots, sources told KABC-TV.
Neighbors told KNBC-TV that the gunman's father and brother lived in the home.
Jerry Cunningham Rathner, who lives nearby, told AP that she heard gunshots shortly before noon and then saw a man shooting at the neighbors' home. The residence quickly erupted in flames and billowing smoke.
She said the gunman then went to the corner and pointed a military-style rifle at a woman in a car, ordering her to pull over. He then motioned to another car to slow down before opening fire.
Santa Monica Police officers prepare to search the campus of Santa Monica College,after multiple shootings were reported on the campus Friday.
Los Angeles police officers check a home in the city's westside Palms district, that was believed to be connected in some way with shootings in nearby Santa Monica. Reed Saxon, AP
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Santa Monica gunman killed father, brother, sources say
The two bodies found in a burning Santa Monica house – the starting point in a shooting rampage – are believe to be the brother and father of the suspected gunman, law enforcement sources told The Times.
Six people were killed in the rampage, and police say the suspect used an AR-15 assault rifle.
He was killed by officers at Santa Monica College. Police don’t have a motive for the shootings. The shooting and fire appear to have stemmed from some type of family dispute, but the sources said police are still are from sure what happened.
Santa Monica College remained closed. And police were converging on an apartment in Mar Vista as part of the shooting investigation.
Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks described a violent shooting rampage that appears to have begun in the 2000 block of Yorkshire Avenue just before noon.
The gunman then moved west along Pico Boulevard, firing at cars and other targets.
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