A man with a semi-automatic rifle killed at least four people and wounded several others Friday as he carried out a deadly rampage across several blocks of Santa Monica, Calif. Police shot him dead in the Santa Monica College Library.
UPDATE: Two victims were found dead in a burning house off campus from Santa Monica College. Three critically injured victims were transported to the hospital. One of those victims died at the hospital. Three others had minor injuries at the house.
A series of random shootings occurred on the way from the burned out house toward the Santa Monica College.
The offender shot a woman as she drove by the burning house, and also forced another woman to drive him away from the scene in her vehicle. When the carjacked vehicle reached the Santa Monica College campus, the gunman shot into an SUV and killed the driver — Carlos Navarro Franco, age 68. A passenger in the SUV was also critically injured. The offender fled the hijacked vehicle without injuring the driver. He also attempted to shoot at victims at the school’s library. Police officers confronted the offender at the library, and shot and killed him.
At 4:30 p.m. PT police reported that a total of six people were killed, and three people injured. Police later confirmed that a total of five people were killed, including the gunman.
Dr. Marshall Morgan, Chief of Emergency Medicine at UCLA Medical Center reports the hospital received three female patients (two critical and one serious), and that a woman who was wounded at the shooting near Santa Monica College in California has died. UCLA Santa Monica received three patients with minor injuries.
Initial breaking news report …
More than six people were shot Friday during a shooting in the Santa Monica College area, and the suspect was found in the school’s library and shot and killed by police. A man dressed in black, with the words “Life is a Gamble” on the back of his sweatshirt, was taken into custody by police. Two gunshot victims were in critical condition, one was in serious condition, and one was in good condition. The offender is described as a male/white subject with cornrows in his hair, and black overalls. Police were searching for a possible second subject. At a second crime scene, two dead bodies were discovered in a burned home.
Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks reports a gunman carrying an assault-style rifle killed at least six people in Santa Monica before police killed him during a gunfight in the Santa Monica College library.
Santa Monica College was on lockdown, according to police. Roosevelt Elementary and John Adams Elementary school were also on lockdown.
The wounded victims were shot inside a car either on the campus or near the campus.
Witnesses reported a “fully armed” offender discharging a firearm at vehicles in the area, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Initially it was reported that there are two shooting scenes. Shooting began just before noon Pacific Time. As the incident unfolded there was also a report of a house fire scene near the area of Santa Monica College.
President Barack Obama coincidentally was nearby at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser luncheon. Following the Santa Monica event, the President was scheduled to depart to the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage to meet with President Xi Jinping at 4 p.m. PT. White House officials, who said the shooting did no affect President Barack Obama’s visit say Obama and Xi will discuss North Korea’s nuclear program and Chinese cyber-attacks on American corporate and national security targets.
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