SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A gunman with an assault-style rifle killed at least six people in Santa Monica on Friday before police shot him to death in a gunfight in the Santa Monica College library, authorities said.
Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks told reporters the rampage began at a house in the coastal city before the gunman, dressed all in black, made his way to Santa Monica College.
Seabrooks said he killed two people in the house, which caught fire, two more people as he moved several blocks toward the campus, and then two more on campus.
He entered the library and fired on other people but didn’t hit them, Seabrooks said.
Several students in the library reported hearing gunfire, and one witness said he heard a woman scream.
“The officers came in and directly engaged the suspect and he was shot and killed on the scene,” Seabrooks said.
She identified the gunman as 25 to 30 years old and dressed all in black, wearing what appeared to be a ballistic jacket.
The campus was searched for a second shooter, and 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. He did not appear to be wounded.
At least 6 people are dead as a result of this shooting incident. How many more of these sick bastards are going to randomly murder our citizens?
Would mandatory background checks have stopped this gunman? Too soon to tell. I think we will have to ask ourselves this question every time we have a mass murder incident. I guess NRA and the Congress know best. [sarcasm key tapped]
Not too long ago, one would be accused of wearing a tin foil hat if he claimed that the Feds were collecting every email, every blog entry, and every phone call for every citizen in the United States.
In the not-too-distant-past, one would be viewed as a conspiracy theorist if he believed that the IRS would target someone or some group based on their political beliefs.
Now we know that both of these are true. I would rather take my chances with a gunman than to allow the government to further restrict our freedoms in ANY way. I do not favor granting the federal government any additional powers.
I grew up under WWII parents, I didn’t assume privacy. Ever see a war letter home? Ever hear of the Japanese interment camps for American Japanese (rhetorical of course)?
One thing you have to remember is that other groups with less of an organizational structure were also targetted by the IRS. I can name you at least one.
I don’t think many of those who got (c4) status should have because I don’t see ‘the common good.’ I see political groups. That includes the Coffee Party who also had to jump through hoops.
As for other freedoms, one of the things I was so enraged about on 9/11 was the fact that life as we knew it and our freedoms we had come to enjoy (or with some of us, what our fathers and grandfathers had fought for) would be seriously altered.
I don’t think we can expect to communicate electronically either by voice or pecking and have it remain private. That’s like people who get surprised at work by the boss knowing what they are doing during the day. I was always told that my employer could and would snupervise my electronic activities. I believed them an kept my email related to business. Those who chose to ignore the warnings often paid a big price. They were stupid.
Yawn….just buy more ammo.
@Good American – brainwashed by NRA
Good American, I hope that was sarcasm. I simply don’t see what is the hamr in background checks. If it stops one crazy then it will have been worth it.
You’re unAmerican. Get a gun, shoot back. Are you connected to those shootings? If not, what’s the problem. It’s California, they’re “libtards” anyway…..
Stopping one crazy means destroying the right of the millions of gun owners.
Say a prayer in public /
One sure way of getting on FOX News.
I saw some recent CA reporting that this guy may have spent time in mental health treatment some years ago. That reporting has not been verified yet to my knowledge, but neighbors have described him as frequently angry and not very pleasant . Once we find out where and how he got those weapons and how he may have escaped notice regarding the mental health issue, this one might give us a clue on how we can improve this part of preventing guns from getting into the wrong hands — without affecting the 2A rights of the rest of us..
@Wolverine
Your point is well made Wolverine. Even if he did spend time in mental health treatment, if nothing was put into the system where a background check would have picked it up or if he got the gun from a gun show or private sale there was nothing to stop him from buying the gun(s).
I still think the 2A thing is a red herring. Our forefathers,for all their wisdom, were not in any way prescient enough to foresee what the Second Amendment has wrought. They were against standing armies and for well armed militias, which were used a great deal in the early days of our revolution against British rule and their standing armies.