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Two found dead in Santa Monica home near site of campus shooting Three dead after shooting attack in Santa Monica
(about 2 hours later)
Two people were found dead Friday in a burned home near the campus of Santa Monica College, where someone sprayed a street corner with gunfire, wounding at least three people, authorities said. A gunman broke into homes, set fire to a property, shot at traffic and tried to hijack vehicles in a rampage in Santa Monica which reportedly left three people dead and five wounded.
Police and witnesses said the gunfire began adjacent to the campus and about three miles from where President Barack Obama was attending a fundraising luncheon, just before noon. Authorities believe at least one shooter, and possibly two, fled from there onto the campus, where California Highway Patrol Officer Vince Ramirez said one suspect was wounded and taken into custody.
Police said a shooter was in custody and the campus was being searched for a possible second shooter. The motorcade of President Obama, who was in Santa Monica for a fundraiser lunch, was re-routed to avoid the area around the campus. His visit was not thought to be linked to the shootings.
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 burned home, he said. Police sealed off the area and told students and residents to stay inside and lock their doors while they searched for a possible additional gunman. The bomb squad also swept the area.
Three shooting victims were admitted to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, hospital spokesman Mark Wheeler said. Two were in critical condition and one was in serious condition, said. The rampage began shortly before midday when police received reports of break-ins, a house on fire and a man shooting at traffic, including a bus, on the corner of Cloverfield and Olympic boulevards. He tried to hijack several vehicles before running to the nearby campus.
Jimes Gillespie, 20, said he was in the college's library studying when he heard the gunfire, and he and dozens of other students began fleeing the three-story building. Students in the library, where they were studying for end of year exams, scrambled for cover and fled when they heard gunfire. One described the gunman as a white male in his 20s with corncrows in his hair. Some witnesses said he had a shotgun, others said it was an assault rifle. Many said he also had a handgun.
"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. Jimes Gillespie, 20, told AP he was in the library studying when he heard a shotgun blast followed by eight to 10 handgun shots. "Then after I saw the gunman I heard more shots and I ran out of the library through the emergency exit."
Gillespie believes there were two shooters because he heard two kinds of gunfire – a shotgun and a handgun – but only saw one person. As Gillespie ran away across campus, he said he saw a car in front of the English building with bullet holes and shattered glass.
"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." Sergeant Denise Joslin of the California highway patrol said authorities were searching for possible additional suspects because they continued to receive reports of gunfire after the first suspect was captured. "There is still a search going on in the area for a possible second suspect or additional suspects."
As Gillespie ran away 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. Police found two bodies at the burning house. One of the wounded who was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center later died. The condition of the suspect was not immediately known.
Santa Monica police sergeant Rudy Flores said numerous witnesses called to report that the shooting began with a man on a street corner near the college firing shots at vehicles, including a bus. President Barack Obama was addressing a Democratic party fundraiser several miles from the shootings.
California highway patrol officer Vince Ramirez said his agency began receiving 911 calls just minutes before noon. "We are aware of the incident and it is not impacting the visit. It's a local police matter at this point," a secret service spokesman, Edwin Donovan, told a White House pool reporter.
"We understand one shooter was taken into custody shortly after we arrived," he said. The public college, just east of Los Angeles, has about 36,000 students. Alumni include Dustin Hoffman and Sean Penn.
Ramirez said officers were searching the 38-acre campus after witnesses said there may have been a second shooter. He emphasized that those reports were unconfirmed.
Santa Monica College is a two-year college with about 34,000 students in an area of homes and strip malls. It's a little more than a mile from the coastal city's beaches and pier, and about three miles (about five kilometers) from where Obama was attending the fundraiser.
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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