Tustin Shooting Leaves 4 Dead in 25 Minutes
Police in Orange County have confirmed that four people were left dead in a matter of 25 minutes. The suspected gunman is also dead; police said he committed suicide before they could take him into custody.
"The suspect shot and killed himself," Lt. Paul Garaven of the Tustin Police Department told the Orange County Register.
Police responded to the call of a woman who was found dead at a home in Ladera Ranch; she had been shot multiple times, according to authorities. Then authorities attempted to make sense of a shooting spree that led them on a chase for 25 minutes.
"I do not believe any of the victims are related to each other," Tustin police spokesman Jim Amormino told the Associated Press. "It might have been a random thing. We just don't know."
They have tentatively sketched out the ordeal, which began with finding the first victim, then being dispatched to a carjacking, where a bystander had been shot and taken to the hospital. Another call brought the police to yet another carjacking; unfortunately the victim in that crime died.
One final call alerted authorities to reports of a man with a gun. When police arrived, they found one man injured and another dead. The authorities gave pursuit to the suspected assailant; he led them into Orange and took his own life when authorities closed in on him.
"When they tried to stop, he killed himself in the car," Tustin Lt. Paul Garaven told the Associated Press. "There have been other people coming forward saying they were shot at or their cars were shot at."
There are at least six crime scenes that need processing and are taking the authorities' time and attention. No names have been released, pending identification and notification of family members.
"I've never seen anything like this in this neighborhood," resident Leo Kueny told The Register. "It's a very strange day."