The attack began at a house and ended on a college campus where police say they shot the gunman in the library.

 

Police initially¹ put the death toll² at six, but later revised it to five people dead, including the shooter.

 

The gunman was in his late 20s and had been carrying an assault-style rifle, say witnesses.

 

President Barack Obama was at a fundraiser not far from where the shooting unfolded just before noon on Friday. 

 

 

The gunman, dressed in black and wearing an ammunition³ belt and bullet-proof jacket, began by firing shots at the house, witnesses said. 

 

The property was then engulfed⁴ by fire although it is not clear how the blaze started.

 

The Los Angeles Times reports that the first two victims were the gunman's father and brother.

 

Neighbour Jerry Rathner said she witnessed the shooting from her veranda⁵, the Associated Press reported.

 

The gunman then walked to the street corner, pointed⁶ his gun at a driver and told her to pull over. 

 

He signalled to another car with a female driver to slow down and fired into the car several times.

 

Ms Rathner said she rushed to help the victim and saw she had a shoulder injury.

 

"He fired three to four shots into the car, boom, boom, boom, right at her," Ms Rathner said.

 

Authorities say the violence then moved to a street corner near Santa Monica College where the suspect fired at passing vehicles.

 

The gunman then entered the campus where he is said to have shot a woman as he made his way toward the college library, where students were studying for final exams. 

 

"We saw a woman get shot in the head," administrative⁷ assistant Trena Johnson told the Associated Press. "I haven't been able to stop shaking."

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