Shooting at Santa Monica College, Bodies Found in House

By Cynthia Herbert :: 5:09 PM

A shooting has been reported this afternoon at Santa Monica College, a two-year educational institution in the seaside city outside of Los Angeles.

Local law enforcement officials and hospital staff have confirmed 3 victims, two of them critically wounded. One of the three victims is the alleged shooter, who was downed by police gunfire.

In addition to the casualties on the College’s campus, Santa Monica fire officials have told a local television station that inside of the charred remains of a house in a nearby neighborhood, the bodies of two unidentified males have been found.

Officials believe, but are not certain, that the shooting and the house fire are connected.

President Barack Obama was in Santa Monica today for a fundraiser, but he was not in the immediate area of the shooting. Secret Service officials have been notified of the incident.

The campus is currently on a lock-down, and the College released the following statement:

“There have been reports of a shooter on the main SMC campus. The college is on lock-down. This means that if you are on campus, stay out of open spaces, stay in doors, lock all doors and do not open the doors until you receive an all clear from college officials. If you are off campus, do not come to campus.”