Gunfire erupts near California college, at least four wounded

Gunfire erupts near California college, at least four wounded

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Women leave Santa Monica College following a shooting on campus in Santa Monica, California June 7, 2013.
Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Alcorn

Fri Jun 7, 2013 4:54pm EDT

SANTA MONICA, California (Reuters) - At least four people were wounded when gunfire erupted near Santa Monica College west of Los Angeles on Friday, about 3 miles from where President Barack Obama was attending a political fundraiser, and a suspect was arrested, authorities said.
A spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol, Sergeant Denise Joslin, told Reuters the highway patrol had received a report of a man armed with multiple weapons, including a shotgun, firing at passing cars and a bus at two locations near the college campus.
Joslin said the overall number of injuries was not yet certain, and there were no reports of fatalities, "but that is not something that I would rule out."
Santa Monica police spokesman Richard Lewis told Reuters that "some people" were injured and that a suspect was in custody but could give no further information.
Three people wounded by gunfire were taken to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, two of them listed in critical condition and one in serious condition, hospital spokesman Mark Wheeler said.
He said a fourth victim was taken to UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, but her condition was not immediately known.
Asked about the possibility of a second suspect, Joslin said, "That is a possibility right now."
She said police searched the campus and surrounding area after receiving reports of additional gunshots being fired following the gunman's arrest.
Obama was attending a fundraising event at the Santa Monica home of former News Corp President Peter Chernin at about the time of the shooting and had just finished his remarks, but he made no mention of the incident.
A Secret Service spokesman in Washington said: "We are aware of the incident and it is not impacting the visit. It's a local police matter at this point."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/07/us-usa-shooting-california-idUSBRE95615W20130607

Fatal shooting at California college
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Photo 3 of 3: A police officer helps search the campus.


At least 1 dead in Santa Monica

• Not clear whether the fatality was a victim or a suspect
• Police: Suspect in custody
• Possible second gunman hunted. DEVELOPING STORY

• 'It happened in front of me' http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3...video_icon.gif
• 'We heard shots, panic ensued' http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3...video_icon.gif
• Highway Patrol: 'Stay inside' http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3...video_icon.gif
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Santa Monica College shooting: 2 critical, 1 serious in shooting near California school

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Photographer: ABC15

Posted: 1:56 PM
Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

• http://media2.abc15.com//photo/2010/...0557_60_45.JPG By: Associated Press

SANTA MONICA, CA - Two people were found dead Friday in a burned home near Santa Monica College, where someone sprayed a street corner with gunfire, wounding at least four people, authorities said.
Police and witnesses said the gunfire began adjacent to the campus and about 3 miles from where President Barack Obama was attending a fundraising luncheon, just before noon.
They said a shooter was in custody and the campus was being searched after unconfirmed reports that there was a second shooter.
A man dressed entirely in black, with the words "Life is a Gamble" on the back of his sweatshirt, was seen being taken into custody by law enforcement officers.
Four shooting victims were admitted to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, hospital spokesman Mark Wheeler said. Two were in critical condition, one was in serious condition, and one was in good condition, he said.
Jeff Furrows of the Santa Monica Fire Department said there was extensive fire damage inside the nearby home. A woman also was found with a gunshot wound in a car outside the home, he said.
Jerry Cunningham Rathner, who lives near the house, said she heard gunshots shortly before noon and came out onto her porch to see a man shooting at the residence. Soon, the building erupted in flames and was billowing smoke.
The gunman, dressed in black and wearing an ammunition belt, went to the corner and pointed a military-style rifle at a woman in a car and told her to pull over, Rathner said. He then signaled to a second car, also driven by a woman, to slow down and began firing into the vehicle.
"He fired three to four shots into the car -- boom, boom, boom, right at her," said Cunningham, who went to the woman's aid and saw she was wounded in the shoulder.
"I can't believe she didn't have worse injuries," Cunningham said.
From there the scene shifted to Santa Monica College, which is located in a neighborhood of strip malls and homes, more than a mile inland from the city's famous Santa Monica Pier, Third Street Promenade and its expansive, sandy beaches.
Jimes Gillespie, 20, told The Associated Press he was in the college's library studying when he heard gunfire, and he and dozens of other students began fleeing the three-story building.
"As I was running down the stairs I saw one of the gunmen," said Gillespie, who described the shooter as a white man in his 20s, wearing cornrows in his hair and black overalls. He said the man was carrying a shotgun.
Gillespie believes there were two shooters because he heard two kinds of gunfire -- a shotgun and a handgun -- but only saw one person.
"The shotgun blast was first. It was either him or the partner who shot eight to 10 handgun shots," Gillespie said. "Then after I saw the gunman I heard more shots and I ran out of the library through the emergency exit."
As Gillespie ran across campus, he said he saw a car in front of the English building that was riddled with bullet holes, had shattered windows and a baby's car seat in the back.
Santa Monica police Sgt. Rudy Flores said numerous witnesses called to report that the shooting near the college began with a man on a street corner near the college firing shots at vehicles, including a bus.
California Highway Patrol Officer Vince Ramirez said his agency began receiving 911 calls just minutes before noon.
"We understand one shooter was taken into custody shortly after we arrived," he said.
Ramirez said officers were searching the 38-acre campus after witnesses said they believed there was a second shooter. He emphasized that those reports were unconfirmed.
The two-year college, with about 34,000 students, was in the midst of final exams Friday. It was quickly locked down by police, and students were told to leave.
As the drama unfolded, Obama was attending a fundraising luncheon about three miles away.
Secret Service spokesman Max Milien said the agency was aware of the shooting but it had no impact on the president's event.

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Suspect in California shooting rampage was killed by police in the library at Santa Monica College, police say.

Police: At least 6 dead in S. California shootings

By Chelsea J. Carter. Miguel Marquez and Phil Gast, CNN
updated 7:34 PM EDT, Fri June 7, 2013

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/ass...al-gallery.jpg Los Angeles Police Department officers along with Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies search the campus of Santa Monica College after a reported shooting on Friday, June 7. Police said a suspect was taken into custody.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/ass...al-gallery.jpg Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies search the grounds.


> STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Suspected gunman is dead, police say
• A woman says the suspect had "a big shotgun"
• Wounded people are at UCLA Medical Center, the hospital says

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(CNN) -- [Breaking news update: 7:34 p.m.]
As many as six people have been killed in a shooting rampage in Santa Monica, California, that ended Friday in the library of Santa Monica College with the gunman dead, said city Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks.
[Breaking news update: 7:27 p.m.]
A suspected gunman who went on a shooting rampage Friday in Santa Monica, California, was killed by police in the library of Santa Monica College, said city Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks.
[Previous update, 7:15 p.m.]
At least three people were killed Friday in shootings in Santa Monica, California. Authorities were investigating whether a shooting at a college and another at a residence were linked.
Of six people wounded, a woman died and another person was in critical condition and undergoing surgery, Dr. Marshall Morgan, chief of emergency medicine at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, told reporters Friday afternoon.
After gunfire on the campus of Santa Monica College, a suspect was taken into custody, according to Sgt. Richard Lewis, a police spokesman. Witnesses told CNN a man they believed to be a gunman was shot and lay motionless on the ground.
An eyewitness on campus, Jason Garrett, told CNN the suspected shooter was dressed all in black and appeared to be wearing a tactical vest and carrying a rifle.
A female witness -- who was shaken up by the ordeal and asked not to be identified -- said she heard a noise, realized it was a gunshot, then took off running.
Then, in a hallway, she saw a dark-haired man whom she initially mistook for a police officer but later realized was the shooter. The man -- who she said was wearing black combat boots and what appeared to be a bullet-proof vest -- was quiet and walking casually.
"(He had) a big shotgun," the woman said.
She and a colleague eventually realized something wasn't right and ran in the opposite direction. "Multiple" gun shots rang out at one point, in an exchange of gunfire the woman described as like a war zone.
Authorities continued to search for a possible second gunman, Officer Vince Ramirez told CNN. The search was on the campus and in the surrounding area, officials said.


http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/ass...story-body.jpg Witness: He started blasting rounds
The school was put under lockdown.
The gunman got off at least one shot inside the campus library, several witnesses told CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS.
Priscilla Morales, who was in the library, told CNN she heard three gunshots. "I was so scared and thought literally I was going to die."
Meanwhile, the bodies of two men, believed to have been shot, were found inside a burning house in Santa Monica, near the college, Santa Monica Fire Capt. Jeff Furrow told CNN.
One woman, shot and injured, was found in a car outside the house.
A woman who lives across from the house, in a normally quiet neighborhood, said she saw a man in a vehicle driving away from the burning residence.
Reid Rosson told CNN the man was in the passenger seat, after apparently commandeering the vehicle with the driver still at the wheel. The injured woman was in a car that had ran onto a sidewalk, she told "The Situation Room."
Authorities also were investigating a shooting that targeted a bus in Santa Monica. Two passengers were injured, Suja Lowenthal, a Big Blue Bus spokeswoman, told CNN.
Officials did not say whether the incidents are connected.
President Barack Obama was in Santa Monica for a fundraiser just a 10-minute drive from the campus, KCAL/KCBS reported.
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