One killed, three wounded in shooting near California polling stations: CNN
News Desk bdnews24.com
Published: 09 Nov 2016 05:52 AM BdST Updated: 09 Nov 2016 12:31 PM BdST
One man was killed and two women wounded when a gunman opened fire with an assault rifle at a house across the street from a polling station in the Southern California town of Azusa on Tuesday, police said, before the gunman was also found dead.
The midday outburst of gun violence in the normally quiet foothill community 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Los Angeles disrupted voting at two polling places and prompted security lockdowns of a park and two public schools.
However, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lieutenant John Corina said the bloodshed had "nothing to do with" Election Day. "It just happened to be across the street," he said.
Corina said the two wounded women were struck by stray bullets. The Los Angeles Times, citing a law enforcement source, said one of the victims hit by gunfire was on the way to a polling place to vote.
Azusa police earlier described the shooter as a heavily armed female and said there were reports of a possible second, male suspect.
However, Corina later said police had confirmed that only one suspect had been involved - a man found dead inside the house by police. He said it was not immediately clear whether the gunman was killed by police or had taken his own life.
Officers responding to initial reports of gunshots came under fire themselves as they tried to assist victims found bleeding outside the home, according to accounts from Azusa police and the sheriff's department.
Police returned fire and then surrounded the house, cornering the suspect inside, authorities said.
Three civilians - two women and a man - had already been struck by gunfire. The man was pronounced dead at the scene and the two women were rushed to a hospital, where they were listed in critical condition, police said.
Authorities said the motives of gunman were unknown.
"We're in the process of trying to figure out why this happened, and who this person is, and what exactly made him snap," Corina said.
The incident began around 2 p.m. local time as residents of Azusa, like Americans across the country, streamed to the polls to cast ballots in the US presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.
The Los Angeles County Registrar and Recorder's office issued a Twitter advisory urging voters to avoid the area around two polling locations, one in a park and one at an elementary school, and to cast their ballots at other polling sites.
Two other schools nearby were also locked down and then evacuated, Azusa Police Chief Steve Hunt said.
The Los Angeles Times said the person killed was a man in his 70s.
-
Ukraine hails Mariupol defenders as heroes
-
Most US mass shooters bought their guns legally
-
Michael Bloomberg to invest $242m in clean energy
-
Life returns in Bucha, a symbol of death and atrocity
-
UN warns of 'catastrophic' child malnutrition due to price hikes
-
Wheat prices jump as India export ban adds to supply squeeze
-
Sweden's NATO bid hits a snag as Turkey says no
-
Azovstal commander says obeys order to save lives
-
Most Canadians don’t want Charles as king, but changing royal rule isn’t easy
-
Ukraine hails Mariupol defenders as heroes who changed course of war
-
India's top court revokes ban on large prayer gatherings in mosque
-
In Bucha, a symbol of death and atrocity, life returns
-
They were at Tops when the shooting started. This is how they survived
-
FDA and Abbott reach agreement on baby formula to try to ease shortage
Most Read
- Exhausted, weak wild elephant prefers to stay close to humans
- Bangladesh Bank devalues taka again as US dollar hits record high
- Bangladesh announces Padma bridge tolls, a step closer to inauguration
- US police say college student Zinat’s death was a suicide. Her family disagrees
- Azovstal siege ends as hundreds of Ukrainian fighters surrender
- PM Hasina urges restraint amid surging commodity prices in global markets: Mannan
- Bangladesh writes to India for PK Halder details, but does not expect extradition now
- 10 people killed and 3 wounded in shooting at Buffalo grocery store
- About a dozen buses carrying Ukrainian Azovstal servicemen leave plant
- Mayor Taposh wants shops shut early to ease Dhaka traffic jam