24-year-old gunman shot at college campus after killing four
Suspect John Zawahri’s rampage that killed four is believed to have started as domestic incident
The gunman who went on a chaotic rampage killing four people before being fatally shot by police at a college campus planned the attack and was capable of firing 1,300 rounds of ammunition, the police chief said.
"Any time someone puts on a vest, of some sort, comes out with a bag full of loaded magazines, has an extra receiver, has a handgun and has a semi-automatic rifle, carjacks folks, goes to a college, kills more people and has to be neutralised at the hands of the police, I would say that that's premeditated," Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said.
CNN reported that the killer was identified as John Zawahri, who would have turned 24 on Saturday.
Investigators were looking at family connections to find a motive because the killer's father Samir Zawahri, 55, and brother Chris Zawahri were the first victims, one source said.
CNN also said the gunman had mental health issues. A few years ago, he was admitted to hospital for treatment after allegedly talking about harming someone, it quoted one official as saying.
Not long after arriving at the neighbourhood, the gunman's father and mother went through a difficult divorce and split custody of their two boys, said Thomas O'Rourke, a neighbour. "It was not an easy break-up," O'Rourke said. "It was a bitter divorce."