Post date: Jun 07, 2013 11:19:37 PM
Police respond to gunfire near a Los Angeles area college, where at least one person has reportedly died and 5 others injured in a crime and shooting spree.
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 07, 2013) (REUTERS) - At least one person has died and five others were wounded when gunfire erupted near Santa Monica College west of Los Angeles on Friday (June 07), about 3 miles from where U.S. President Barack Obama was attending a political fundraiser. A suspect was arrested, authorities said.
A spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol said they 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. Bodies were also found inside a home near campus that the gunman allegedly set on fire, a law enforcement source said.Santa Monica police spokesman Richard Lewis told Reuters 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, where two were listed in critical condition and one was 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.
One witness to the shooting who was not identified told a local CNN affiliate that he saw a man drive up in a car, walk into the middle of an intersection with a gun and open fire at passing vehicles and a building before "he jumped back in the car and took off."
A student at the college, Ava Rezai, said she may have seen the shooter.
"I saw a body, but I don't know what the body was of. It was outside of the library. It was all dressed in black, so I think it could have been the shooter because I heard the shooter was dressed all up in black."
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.