LOS ANGELES, Sept 13, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A man went on a shooting rampage
California on Wednesday, killing five people including his wife, before
taking his own life, a police spokesman told AFP.
“We have six deceased, one is the suspect and five are victims,” said
Lieutenant Mark King of the Kern County sheriff’s office after the shooting
in the city of Bakersfield. “We believe it’s possibly a domestic violence
incident.”
Police received their first call at 5:19 pm before responding to the first
location, a trucking company.
“When the deputies responded they located three victims of the shooting and
the suspect had fled,” said King, adding that the man is believed to have
shot two more victims at another location.
“At 5:54 pm the vehicle was located at a local business. The suspect
noticed the deputy pulled into the business, and then shot himself,” said
King.
“Our detectives have five separate scenes. We are interviewing over 30
witnesses,” continued King, adding that the man had used a large caliber
handgun.
It was the latest chapter of America’s epidemic of gun violence.
Americans make up only four percent of the global population but they own
40 percent of the world’s firearms, according to a recent study published by
the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.
Of the 857 million guns owned by civilians, 393 million are in the United
States — more than all of the firearms held by ordinary citizens in the
other top 25 countries combined, according to the Small Arms Survey.