Five dead in Santa Monica killing spree; police say gunman acted alone

A weeping woman is comforted after being escorted off campus as Police swarm Santa Monica City College. (Credit: AP/Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times)

The city of Santa Monica was rocked Friday by a shooting rampage that reportedly had claimed the lives of six. However, the Santa Monica Police Department has now amended the official death toll from the tragic event.

A police spokesman said at a press conference that four victims, plus the suspect, were killed. This brings the official death toll to five, although one wounded victim remains in critical condition. The statement amends the pronouncement made at an earlier press conference by the police chief, who had announced the death toll at six.

Officials said the discrepancy is the result of conflicting accounts from witnesses.

Police claim the alleged gunman acted alone. In addition, officials clarified that a man detained earlier today was not involved in the shooting.

Further details via LA Times:

The two bodies found in a burning Santa Monica house – the starting point in the rampage – are believed to be the brother and father of the gunman, law enforcement sources told The Times.

He was killed by officers at Santa Monica College. Police don’t have a motive for the shootings. The shootings and fire appear to have stemmed from a family dispute, but the sources said police are still unsure what happened.

Santa Monica College remained closed, and police were converging on an apartment in Mar Vista as part of the investigation.

According to Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks, the killing spree started on the 2000 block of Yorkshire Avenue just before noon Friday, with the gunman moving west along Pico Boulevard, firing randomly at cars and other targets.

One victim died between Cloverfield and Pico boulevards, while two more were killed at 19th Street and Pico. The fourth shooting victim, meanwhile, died at a local hospital.

The incident plunged the city into panic as the gunman retreated to Santa Monica College, with law enforcement in hot pursuit. The gunman shot a woman on campus before fleeing into the library, at which point he continued to indiscriminately fire rounds from the assault rifle in his possession.

Authorities quickly closed in on the suspect. After a standoff, police shot and killed the gunman on the campus grounds. Though the suspect has not been identified, he is described as being between 25 and 30 years old.

In the wake of the shooting, Santa Monica College and all schools in the city were immediately placed on lockdown.

Stephen Bell and his classmates were preparing for their final tap dance performance of the semester when two panicked women ran into their classroom, which was adjacent to the campus library, claiming to have just seen a woman get shot.

"When she said that word -- shot! -- we immediately shut the door, lay down on the floor and shut the lights," said Bell. "I was thinking, 'Oh my god, Columbine High School. First thing that crossed my mind."

Joey Letteri, the tap instructor, had been running a few minutes late, and entered the classroom to find the door closed and the lights off.

"I thought it was a surprise and that the class got a cake for me or something," he said, shaking his head at his own naivety.

For his part, Letteri was able to lead the class in meditation, keeping them calm and quiet for the duration of the gunman's rampage and eventual death at the hands of law enforcement officials. According to Letteri, one student couldn't stop throwing up, while another was crying and shaking violently.

When the SWAT team eventually arrived, Letteri told them to slide their badges under the door to verify their identities. From there, each person in the classroom had to come out individually with their hands up. The students were then searched before being escorted from the campus grounds. Officers took the two library witnesses to take down their statements.

The rampage is the latest in the recent rash of mass shootings in the U.S., including the Oct. 2012 incident in Brookfield, Wis., which left three dead and four injured. Two months later, the unfathomable shooting in Newtown, Conn., claimed the lives of twenty children and six adults, excluding the shooter, who killed himself at the scene. The tragedy, which made international headlines, would go on to reignite gun control debates across the United States. This latest tragedy is certain to stoke those flames as the nation mourns yet another senseless crime.

Via: LA Times