Five people have been killed in a string of shootings in Bakersfield, California. The suspect also took his own life, according to the authorities. The shootings were apparently not random.
“This is highly unusual to have six people shot and dead in one incident,” Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told reporters on Wednesday evening.
Asked if this qualified as a mass shooting, Youngblood said “absolutely,” according to The Bakersfield Californian.
“This is the new normal” – Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood on Southeast Bakersfield five-scene shootings that left six dead, including gunman. More tonight on @KGETnews at 11 pm. pic.twitter.com/DVkU5Q5tzo
— Eytan Wallace (@EytanWallace) September 13, 2018
The tragedy began Wednesday afternoon at a trucking business, where the attacker used a handgun to shoot and kill his wife and another man. He then chased another male victim to the nearby Bear Mountain Sports store, killing him.
The attacker then fatally shot two more men at another location, before hijacking a car with a woman and a child on board. They both managed to escape unharmed.
A deputy eventually confronted the suspect in a parking lot, at which point the gunman shot himself in the chest, Sheriff Youngblood said. The confrontation was captured on the deputy’s body camera.
The rampage took about 15 minutes, the authorities said.
“Obviously, these are not random shootings,” said Youngblood, but could not elaborate on the possible motive of the attacker.
Deputies are currently interviewing about 30 people who witnessed the string of shootings. The identities of the attacker and the victims have not been made public yet.
Bakersfield is a city of approximately 380,000 residents in southern California, about 100 miles north-northwest of Los Angeles.
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