Police said that five are dead after a horrific shooting rampage that ended at Santa Monica College, according to the Associated Press.
A police spokesman told the AP that a gunman and four victims died in the rampage, which began shortly after noon. The rampage occurred in stages throughout Santa Monica, as the gunman first reportedly killed at different spots in the city. Five more are injured, including one critically.
Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks originally told the Los Angeles Times that seven were dead, but that number was later revised down.
The Times reported that authorities shot and killed the gunman at Santa Monica College, which had been locked down amid reports of the shooting. Police said the gunman was carrying an assault-style rifle.
Police also took a second "person of interest" into custody, who they later released.
The shooting occurred just miles away from where President Barack Obama was speaking at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in Los Angeles. The Secret Service said it was unrelated to Obama's visit.
"We are aware of the incident and it is not impacting the visit. It’s a local police matter at this point," a spokesman said in a statement, according to a White House pool report.
Los Angeles Times city editor Shelby Grad tweeted out a map of each of the stops in the rampage:
#SMC Shooting: @abc7 has very strong, easy-to-read map of the rampage twitter.com/ABC7/status/34…
— Shelby Grad (@shelbygrad) June 8, 2013
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