At least seven people were killed Friday in a shooting rampage that culminated at the library of Santa Monica College in southern California, where the suspected gunman was shot and killed by police, officers said.
Two of the victims were found in a burning house that witnesses said had been set on fire by a man matching the description of the gunman, local media said.
Witnesses told local station KCBS that the man ran from the house into the street where he car-jacked a vehicle and shot its occupant dead. The gunman also opened fire on a city bus as he made his way to the 30,000-student college.
Santa Monica police chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said that at least six people were killed in the rampage, plus the suspected gunman, dpa reported.
She said that the people in the house may have been known to the gunman but the rest of the victims were shot at random. She said that a person of interest was in police custody and may be linked to the gunman.
"At this point we have at least six people dead and two or three injured," she told a press conference, clarifying that this did not include the suspected gunman.
The attack occurred as US President Barack Obama was attending a nearby fundraiser but it did not appear that the two incidents were linked, the Secret Service said.
"We are aware of the incident and it is not impacting the visit, Secret Service Spokesman Edwin M Donovan told reporters. "It's a local police matter at this point."