As many as six people were killed in a bullet-riddled rampage across
Santa Monica, Calif., that apparently ended with a suspect also shot
dead on a college campus, police said.
The suspect died after a shootout with police at Santa Monica College, and authorities also had a person of interest in custody.
In addition to the dead, two to three people were injured, police said,
though an area hospital chain reported one person dead and five being
treated after the shootings.
Authorities responded to a report of shots fired at 11:52 a.m. PT and found a house on fire.
At the same time, they received reports of a carjacking and multiple
shootings that might be related, according to Santa Monica Police Chief
Jacqueline Seabrooks.
When officials encountered a suspect, he took off towards Santa Monica College.
"There was an exchange of gunfire at that time and the suspect attempted
to evade the officer by running off to the college campus," Seabrooks
said.
The suspect made his way towards a library, where he shot at least one
woman and then went inside, pursued by law enforcement, police said.
"He continued to shoot at them," Seabrooks said. "The officers came in
and directly engaged the suspect and he was shot and killed on the
scene."
Seabrook said the suspect used an AR-15 assault rifle.
Elsewhere, the person of interest was taken into custody, but officials would not provide details about that person.
"We are not convinced 100 percent that the suspect who was killed operated in a solo or alone capacity," Seabrooks said.
She said the investigation was still "in its infancy" and that the
series of consecutive incidents were "more than one" and "as many as
six."
Two people were found dead in that house fire, according to the Los
Angeles Fire Department. It is unclear if those two people were among
the six dead in the shooting rampage.
Two female victims were hospitalized at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical
Center -- one in critical condition in an intensive care unit and one in
fair condition, the hospital said in a news release this evening.
Anoter victim brought to the hospital died after suffering primarily
abdominal injuries, said Dr. Marshall Morgan, UCLA Medical Center's
chief of emergency medicine.
Three other women with more minor injuries were treated and released at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, the hospital said.
It was unclear where the other deceased victims described by Seabrooks were taken.
The college campus went on lockdown following the shooting incident as police attempted to secure the scene.
Santa Monica College student Sam Luster was preparing for a presentation in the school's library when he heard gunfire.
"We didn't know what was happening until all the students at the
entrance of the library started running down towards the bottom of the
library," Luster told ABC News Los Angeles station KABC.
Luster took cover under a desk before moving towards an exit. He said he heard multiple gunshots near the exit.
In 911 calls, the shooter was described as armed with several weapons and possibly a long gun or shotgun.
Authorities said that one of the wounded people was on a bus that was fired upon.
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