Los Angeles, Nov 15 (AFP) Four people were killed andnearly a dozen wounded, including two children, when a gunmanwent on a rampage, randomly picking his targets at a schooland other locations in rural northern California.
Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston toldreporters that the assailant was killed by police followingthe mass shooting, which began around 8:00 am (local time) ata home in Rancho Tehama Reserve and continued at severallocations in the community, including the elementary school.
He said no children were among the dead and the motivefor the assault was unclear, although it may be linked to adomestic dispute and a history of disagreements withneighbors.
"It was very clear at the onset that we had an individualthat was randomly picking targets," Johnston said at a newsconference.
"This man was very, very intent on completing what he setout to do today."He said one child was shot and wounded at the school.
Another suffered non-life-threatening injuries while riding ina car with his mother, who was severely wounded.
Johnston said the gunman, who has not been identified,went on his shooting spree after stealing a neighbor's vehicleand then tried to gain access to the school but wasunsuccessful as it was on lockdown.
He said the suspect, who was wearing a military-stylevest, left the school to continue on his rampage and crashedthe vehicle at one point. He then stole a second vehicle andwas killed in a shootout with police.
One of the four victims was a woman the gunman hadpreviously been accused of stabbing, Johnston said.
Rancho Tehama resident Salvador Tello, who was taking histhree children to school, described seeing the gunman openfire, killing a woman.
Tello "said he saw bullets strike the truck in front ofhim and he put his children down to protect them and put histruck to... reverse," Redding Record Searchlight newspaperreporter Jim Schultz said on Twitter.
"As he left, he saw (a) woman lying dead in the streetand her... wounded husband next to her. Was told help was onits way."Another witness, Casey Burnett, said the gunman was"driving around and shooting randomly from his car."Area resident Brian Flint told local media that hisroommate had been shot and killed by the gunman.
"He's dead. He didn't make it," Flint told KCRA,referring to his roommate. "For his family and everything, Ifeel bad, and we'll be there for them."He said the gunman was a neighbor and had "been shootinga lot of bullets lately, hundreds of rounds, large magazines."The shooting coincides with a flareup of the long-runningdebate on America's epidemic of gun violence and the readyaccessibility of high-powered weapons, less than 10 days aftera gunman shot dead 26 people at a church in Texas.
Johnston told reporters that three weapons -- a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns -- had been recovered fromthe scene.
He added that some 100 law enforcement officers respondedto the shooting.
The Redding Record Searchlight said among the wounded wasa six-year-old who suffered two gunshot wounds and anotherchild shot in the leg.
The elementary school is located on the outskirts ofCorning, an olive oil-producing town of around 8,000 peopleabout 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the state capitalSacramento.
Jason Wandel, chief division counsel at the FBI'sSacramento field office, told AFP that agents had been sent tohelp with the investigation.
More than 33,000 people die annually in the United Statesfrom gun-related deaths -- two thirds of them suicides --according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(AFP)AJR.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.