Sept 12 (Reuters) - An unidentified gunman shot and killed five people in a series of shootings on Wednesday in southern California before taking his own life, police said.

The man killed his wife and a man at a trucking company in Bakersfield, California, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said.

He then killed another man nearby the company and two people later at a residence. He commandeered a vehicle before he killed himself when he was confronted by a sheriff's deputy, Youngblood said. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee Editing by Robert Birsel) </s> BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say gunman kills five people, self in Bakersfield, California. </s> Authorities say gunman kills five people, self in Bakersfield, California

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say gunman kills five people, self in Bakersfield, California. </s> CALIFORNIA: An unidentified gunman shot and killed five people in a series of shootings on Wednesday (Sep 12) in Southern California before taking his own life, police said.

The man killed his wife and a man at a trucking company in Bakersfield, California, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told a news conference.

He then chased another man from the trucking company before he shot and killed him in front of a nearby sports store.

The gunman later killed two men at a residence. He then commandeered a vehicle from a woman and her child before he killed himself when he was confronted by a sheriff's deputy, Youngblood said.

Authorities were working to determine "why this started and why so many players were involved and the connection because obviously these are not random shootings," Youngblood said.

Youngblood did not disclose the identities of the victims.

The woman whose vehicle was taken, and her child, were unharmed, he said. </s> • Five people and a suspected gunman were killed in a shooting spree in Bakersfield, California, on Wednesday.
• Police say a man killed his wife and a man at a trucking company, and then killed another man nearby,
• The suspected gunman carjacked a vehicle with a woman and a child, both of whom managed to escape. Police said he later killed two people at a local residence before killing himself after an armed sheriff's deputy confronted him.

Five people and a gunman were killed after in a shooting spree in Bakersfield, California on Wednesday.

Police say a man killed his wife and a man at a trucking company, and then killed another man nearby, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said.

The suspected gunman carjacked a vehicle with a woman and a child, both of whom managed to escape. Police said he later killed two people at a local residence before killing himself after an armed sheriff's deputy confronted him.

Law-enforcement officials were reportedly interviewing around 30 witnesses following the shootings that spanned five different crime scenes.

The suspected gunman carjacked a vehicle with a woman and a child, both of whom managed to escape. Police said he later killed two people at a local residence before killing himself after an armed sheriff's deputy confronted him.

Youngblood said the shootings "happened rather quickly." It was not immediately clear if the gunman knew all of his victims, but Youngblood suggested the shootings may have been related.

"Certainly there's a connection," Youngblood said. "You don't randomly go to certain residence." </s> A gunman in Bakersfield, California, went on a killing spree through the city Wednesday night, fatally shooting five people — including his wife — and stealing a vehicle before being confronted by a sheriff’s deputy and killing himself, the authorities said.

The series of shootings in Bakersfield — about 115 miles north of Los Angeles — began around 5:20 p.m. and unfolded in about 15 minutes, Sheriff Donny Youngblood of Kern County said at a news conference late Wednesday.

The authorities did not immediately release the names of the victims or the gunman.

“Obviously there’s some type of situation that caused the husband to be extremely upset,” he said.

He added later: “We’re trying to find the connection. Obviously these are not random shootings.”

The events began to unfold when the suspect, who was armed with a handgun, and his wife entered a trucking business, Youngblood said. They confronted a man at the business; the husband shot and killed the man, and then turned and shot his wife, the sheriff said.

Soon, another man arrived at the scene and the gunman fired at him, the sheriff said. After a brief chase, the gunman shot and killed that man in front of a sporting goods store.

The gunman then continued on to a nearby home, where he confronted and then fatally shot two more men, the sheriff said. He then carjacked a vehicle with a woman and child inside. The woman and child were eventually able to escape, the sheriff said.

Soon, a sheriff’s deputy spotted the gunman driving on a highway. The gunman pulled into a lot and the deputy confronted him. The sheriff said his deputy “confronted him with a firearm” but did not discharge it. Amid the confrontation, the gunman killed himself, the sheriff said.

“You don’t randomly go to a certain residence,” he said. “I’m pretty comfortable there will be a connection between all these players.”

Sheriff’s officials said that although there were at least four crime scenes and dozens of witnesses, he was not aware of any injuries beyond those who were fatally shot.

“Six people lost their lives in a very short amount of time,” Youngblood said. “This is the new normal.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Andrew R. Chow and Matt Stevens © 2018 The New York Times </s> A tragic news was reported on Thursday morning from California in the US, where an identified gunman killed 5 people and committed suicide after committing the crime, say reports.

According to a report published in NDTV, the killer first shot his wife and a man at a trucking company in Bakersfield, California and killed another man nearby the company and later, he eliminated 2 more people.

“He commandeered a vehicle before he killed himself when he was confronted by a sheriff’s deputy,” Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said.

The California police recovered a pistol from the crime scene and dead bodies of the deceased for the autopsy. The investigation of the case is underway and police is trying to find the reason that why this all started.

“Why so many people were involved and what was the connection between them, these are not random shootings,” Youngblood said. </s> (Reuters) - An unidentified gunman shot and killed his wife and four other people in a series of shootings on Wednesday in Southern California before taking his own life, police said.

The man went with his wife to a trucking company in Bakersfield, California, where he shot and killed a man and then turned his gun on his spouse, killing her, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told a news conference.

He then chased another man from the trucking company before he shot and killed him in front of a nearby sports store.

The gunman later killed two men at a residence. He then commandeered a vehicle from a woman and her child before he killed himself when he was confronted by a sheriff’s deputy, Youngblood said.

The entire incident took place over 10 to 15 minutes, he said.

“This is the new normal, if you look across the country,” Youngblood said, describing the incident as a mass shooting.

“Six people lost their lives in a very short period of time.”

Authorities were working to determine “why this started and why so many players were involved and the connection because obviously these are not random shootings,” Youngblood said.

“There was some type of situation that caused the husband to be extremely upset,” he said.

He did not disclose the identities of the victims.

The woman whose vehicle was taken, and her child, were unharmed, he said.

Police recovered a pistol at the scene. Authorities were interviewing about 30 witnesses, Youngblood said.

Bakersfield is a community of 375,000 people about 115 miles (185 km) northeast of Los Angeles. </s> Los Angeles (CNN) At least four people were shot dead and two others were wounded Thursday in Los Angeles before the gunman was captured, authorities said.

Gerry Dean Zaragoza, 26, killed his father and brother at their home, fatally wounded a woman he knew at a gas station and shot a man on a bus who died, police said.

There is no obvious motive for any of the killings, said Capt. William Hayes of the Robbery-Homicide Division of the Los Angeles Police Department.

"We're evaluating it, we're interviewing witnesses but we can't come up with a specific answer," he told reporters.

Hayes said the shootings began at about 1:20 a.m. in Canoga Park when Zaragoza shot his parents and brother. Zaragoza's father and brother were killed and his mother injured, Officer Greg Kraft said.

Read More
Five people are killed in a string of shootings in Bakersfield, California, before the gunman fatally shoots himself.