At least six people were killed in a shooting in California on Friday before police shot and killed a black-clad gunman in a college library, police said.
The suspect, who was wearing a ballistic vest, began firing at a house which subsequently went up in flames, before a series of "random" shootings ended at the college, said the police chief in Santa Monica.
"At this hour it appears at least a half dozen are dead and as many as two or three are injured," said Santa Monica police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks, giving a first official account of the rampage.
Asked if she meant six victims dead as well as the black-clad suspect, she said: "As far as I'm aware, yes."
Another suspect was taken into custody after the shootings, which occurred as President Barack was speaking at a political fundraising event just a few miles away in Santa Monica, west of Los Angeles.
"We are not convinced 100 percent that the suspect who was killed operated in a solo or lone capacity," she added.
Aerial TV footage of the rampage had shown a black-clad body outside a building in the area, with police standing nearby.
"The subject was shot in the library, and then because it was still an active shooter circumstance, we had to remove the suspect from the line of fire," said the police chief.
