A drive-by shooting near the University of California, Santa Barbara's campus has left seven people dead and at least seven others injured, officials say.
The Associated Press reports that the terror begain in the Isla Vista community around 9:30 p.m. last night, originating in the same space where an annual spring party got out of control in April. The shooter, a man driving a black BMW, reportedly opened fire from his vehicle, injuring one woman after fatally shooting another.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown, several shootings took place, leaving a total of nine crime scenes. The gunman was involved in a shootout with police which ended in him crashing his BMW into a parked car. His dead body was discovered inside, the victim of a gunshot wound to the head. Brown said it's still unclear whether it was self-inflicted, or a result of the gunfire. Police would eventually find a semi-automatic weapon near the scene of the shootings.
In addition, Brown told the Associated Press that police know the shooter's identity, but it won't be revealed until relatives are notified.
According to the Huffington Post, authorities are investigating a video connecting 22-year-old Santa Barbara City College student Elliot Rodger to last night's mass shooting. The harrowing video, titled "Elliot Rodger's Retribution," was uploaded to YouTube yesterday. In the video, Rodger announces his intentions to attack young women for ignoring him:
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While the suspect still has not been publicly identified, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said that video and written material left by Rodger "appears to be connected" to the incident and is under review.
UPDATE: Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said that Rodger allegedly stabbed three people—assumed to be his roommates—to death in his apartment prior to Friday night's shooting.
Furthermore, police found two Sig Sauer handguns and a Glock inside of his BMW, as well as 41 magazines each packed with 10 rounds of ammunition. Authorities note that all three weapons were obtained legally.
[via Associated Press, Gawker and The Huffington Post]
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