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Subscribe to RSSA series of shootings in Orange County ended with the gunman taking his own life. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
A 20-year-old college student went on a shooting rampage across Orange County, Calif., on Tuesday, killing three people and injuring several others before killing himself, authorities said.
Police said the man, identified as Ali Syed, 20, of Ladera Ranch, Calif., told one of his victims, whose car he stole: "I killed somebody. This is my last day."
In all, there were three homicide victims and at least five victims of attempted homicide, police said.
Syed, a student at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo with no criminal record, shot and killed a young woman in his home in Ladera Ranch, which he shared with his parents, said Scott Jordan, police chief of the town of Tustin, where several of the incidents occurred Tuesday.
The relationship between Syed and the young woman remained unclear, as was the reason she was in the home, police said.
Syed's parents were home at the time, about 4:45 a.m. (7:45 a.m. ET), and fled, Jordan said. Syed then took their black sport-utility vehicle and set out on a drive along Orange County's highways, stopping at times to change cars and shoot people — apparently at random, according to police.
As state troopers homed in on him, he then killed himself.
Police and sheriff's officials gave this account of the dramatic chase:
Syed's first stop was the parking lot of a restaurant in Tustin, another Los Angeles suburb about 20 miles away, where he was spotted loading his shotgun by a man who was waiting in his car for his son.
The man quickly drove off with Syed chasing him on foot and firing his shotgun. The man was shot in the back of head but survived and managed to drive a short way before coming to a stop. Syed shot and wounded a second person who had rushed up to see what was happening.
Syed's car was damaged and had a flat tire, so he ran across the street to a gasoline station, where he approached a man filling up his tank. He took the man's truck after politely telling him: "I don't want to hurt you. I killed somebody. This is my last day. Give me your keys."
Investigators update the deadly carjackings in Southern California.
Now in his second stolen vehicle, Syed took off down state Route 55. He exited in Santa Ana, where he began randomly firing at vehicles on the freeway.
Three vehicles were damaged in Santa Ana, the driver of one of which suffered minor injuries to his face and hand. That man drove home and called police, who began tracking Syed in earnest. The drivers of all three damaged vehicles were being considered victims of attempted homicide.
Back in the stolen truck, Syed again tore off down Route 55. He took an off-ramp too fast, causing him to jump the curb, whereupon he leapt out of the truck, approached a man who was stopped at a stop sign, "walked him across the road and executed him, shooting him three times," Jordan said.
That victim was identified as Melvin Lee Edwards, 69, of Laguna Hills.
Syed then took the man's BMW — his third stolen vehicle — and drove off to the parking lot of a computer store, where he shot two people, apparently strangers, killing one of them. The dead man was identified as Jeremy Lewis, 26, of Fullerton.
Syed drove off in yet another stolen vehicle, returning to Route 55 as emergency calls poured in to authorities. As state troopers were preparing to get into position, he exited the freeway in the city of Orange. With the stolen vehicle still moving, he jumped out, put the shotgun to his head and killed himself.
Authorities said they found the shotgun beside Syed's body. And as of late Tuesday afternoon, they said, they had no explanation for why any of it happened.
Matthew DeLuca and Olivia Santini of NBC News contributed to this report. Follow M. Alex Johnson on Twitter and Facebook.
This story was originally published on Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:07 PM EST
Leave a Comment:
Once again we have a something that 3 months ago would be a non-story nationally. Can you say agenda driven.
Exactly correct! MSNBC is pulling every story involving a gun except the stories where a gun saved someone from a criminal. Agenda driven? Absolutely!
You want to back at MSNBC? Boycott their sponsors...I do!
Wow, how can this be...In a state with extremely restrictive "gun laws"???
Perhaps if several of the deceased would have been armed, but then again, they were law abiding citizens....
if only obama would give eveyone a car this might not have happen. suv's for families of 4 or more + gas coupons
California law says you can't have a loaded gun in the car, when I lived in California you couldn't have the ammunition and gun in the same place, See how this Gun Control Law works stopped crime didn't it. maybe if one of the victims had a gun the criminal would have been stopped, or at least ran away and would think twice about doing it again. The criminals know that the Gun Control Laws make it easy-er to attack people because the chance of someone having a gun is slim to none. Thanks senator Dianne Feinstein or should I say Dickstein.
I am buying a whistle so I can deter these criminals!
....the gun came from 'fast and furious'....so its 'OK' according to obama and eric holder.
thought they had the toughest gun laws in the country? this state should be the the test case for any kind of gun control the feds are contemplating. you can't get a concealed weapons permit in CA. you are limited on the amount of ammo you can buy. your guns have to be locked up with no ammo in the safe to transport them. ect., ect. you either round them all up and melt them down like Australia or give everybody one, but you can't "CONTROL" them. these are the statistics worldwide.
Thanks, NRA, and all the other gun manufacturer stooges.
For what??...make people shoot others?..didnt know that.....*eyes roll*..
BTW..The NRA does not make guns....
Speaking of stooges, you seem to epitomize one!!!
Time for truth-1708502
You have to be kidding......
gadRally: And thank you for your depth of insight and clear illustration of what lies at the heart of the problem of gun violence.
beaner: No, this is a serious issue for serious people. Apparantly the right wing gun nuts do not qualify.
And you're still a blathering idiot!!!
Time
Thank you for your depth of insight and clear illustration of what lies at the heart of the problem of gun violence....
Rally: Really, rally, you should stop talking to yourself!
Beaner: Very good! Yes, that is what I said. And thank you for reinforcing the truth of what I said.
So, what you are saying is that the NRA and gun manufacturing company's are directly responsible for these people being kill and NOT the criminal that did it?
What are you going on about? NRA advocates self-protection from people like this who would casually kill you to take the things you have. And unfortunately these people are dead, because they were not armed or capable of fighting back and the perp knew this and took advantage of it.
And finally some opposition arrived, the police, the cowardly maggot blew his brains out. You have to remember thieves, car-jackers and the like are cowardly and prey on those that can't fight! Which is exactly why we must all arm ourselves, develop a back-bone and actually fend off those who want to harm us!
An armed society is a polite society.
BS if they had a law where they could get their CWP then they could have shot back. Now thanks to who. CORRECT
Really, girls, I tire of your regurgitation of NRA - Nutty Reich Assistants - nonsense. You go on with your self delussion over a serious problem and leave the real conversation to those with sense enough to know that this is a problem that is not going to be solved with more guns.
time
This is a serious issue for serious people. Apparently the left wing anti- gun nuts do not qualify. Oh, and the use of spell check will eliminate some spelling mistakes..."Apparantly"....
Time:
Are you really that retarded or are you making an extra effort today?
If we was to leave it to people like you..only criminals would have the gun and a lot more innocent people would be killed...and nobody here said anything about adding more guns...just you.
Time, and what you libtards propose will only make things worse. Only bad things can come of banning things outright. Look at prohibition, all banning alcohol did was create yet even more crime. Banning guns will be no different. Criminals already have easy access to weapons, any new legislation will accomplish nothing!
"Apparently"
I wonder if the gunman REGISTERED his weapon?
Ok people no one is trying to take away your 2nd ammendant right just more gun laws which we do need. It will not solve everything but it is a start. I do not have a gun nor do I want one. People who are legally getting things guns are not suppose to. The criminals who are getting the guns illegal should be prosecuted and have longer jail time. Problem is not enough room for them to be jailed so they are let out sooner. There are so much that need to be done and that is including gun laws. The government is not trying to take away your 2nd ammendant right just trying to keep guns away from people who should not have them or collect them. I think it is outrageous for people to have so many guns or guns at all when they are not responsible and allow their children to hold them and accidently get shot. So please people!!! Stop with this insanity and try to give suggestions to how to improve safety and keep guns away from people who should not have them and put criminals away for a very long time and keep us safe from them.
Tell it to those dead drivers in California, I sure they are in full agreement with you!
Just what the hell is the matter with those criminals? Do they know the politicians are making a case for gun control? They should have at least waited until all the guns were taken from the lawful gun owners before attempting something stupid, it would be safer for them.
So the perp had a gun and he shot the drivers because he wanted to steal their cars. And the Police could have helped how? Geez, life must be good for criminals in Californication. I believe car drivers should have the option of carrying a gun in their car and posting a window sticker that provides ample warning of an intruder being shot.
Loss, so inexplicable, such as this is disheartening as is all the violence we experience. One California town is considering a ban on knives. A contributor to an editorial noted that there have been several violent episodes that involved biting. (Maybe we should ban teeth??). When the bottom line is reached, the result of locks, bans, alarms, fences, and extraordinary rules is to keep honest people honest. The criminal faction will, in their inimitable style, defeat all of these attempts to control criminals as they have done in the past. The human factor is the focal point that must be addressed. Our attempts to forcibly control and restrict those who have psychological issues or who have violated laws and undergone treatment and / or served time to treat or pay for those violations forces those people to revert to criminal activities to survive in our society. We block access to employment, block access to licensing and certifications for these people. We put the devil's mark on these people. The result is that we are creating an unintended pathway for criminal behavior into our homes, schools, and businesses to implement the most basic force in nature...That of survival for the individual and his or her family. Let us not focus on banning inanimate objects; let us, instead, focus upon recreating lives to be lived with dignity and pride. Let us do away with the erasure, by politicians, of lives through budget redlining and enter the real world of human relations.
Well all the anti-guns folks will be proud to know that those folks that died did not have a weapon to defend themselves. Turn in your guns, make carjacking easier.
Another nut case over medicated on prescription drugs! The give away is the deadly murder/suicide combo. Normal murderers don't kill themselves and normal suicide attempts don't include murder. That special combo is usually the result of prescription anti-depressant usage or some other "antipsychotic" drugs.
Don't say that too loud. That makes way too much sense. The mental health physicians prescribing medicine for every little twitch they call some disorder isn't helping the gun violence cause much. You wont hear about it much or read about it much but behind a lot of the wacko shooting sprees is some nice anti psychotic medicine. Gang violence and robberies are an exception but the lone nut shooting up innocent people before eating a bullet? You bet.
The only thing gun owners have to fear is other gun owners!
dumbazz!!!
It's simple really, we send all mentally ill people to their own island!
Glad to see the Police were there to stop these crimes. Just call 911 and all will be righted. Isn't that the
rationality of California LE and polictians
Sadly, there's no immediate fix for this problem. I think it's unrealistic for everyone to go over a checklist before they leave the house that includes keys, wallet, cigs, gun. Not everyone wants to carry a firearm, nor take away anyone's right to own or carry one. In situations like the CA car-jackings, sure, I'd like to have a loaded gun pointing at a criminal when they're about to carjack me, but that's just not going to happen. The answer is certainly not to arm every citizen as they walk/drive around on everday life errands or tasks. We can't be trusted with that kind of responsibility. Instead of reasoning out our disagreements, the thought crosses the mind of an armed citizen to just draw and shoot to end disputes. That's barbaric...sorry.
Just raise the White Flag and hope for the best eh?
DEJA VU.... Grandtheft auto, vice city... yikes!!!!!!
If the victims would have had guns then maybe they would not be victims. Just the way it is folks. The bad guys will always have guns no matter how many laws we make. Take it upon yoursleves to be armes. Stop being the victim
AMEN just think, then you would never know who was carrying. So you would think twice about pulling this BS
This is why calling the police is useless. They only respond to the violence after it's happened and your already dead or injured. Arm yourself and maybe you won't be an victim. Oldiron made the point of how unfortunately you can't arm yourself in Cali. Liberal policies that take away peoples right to defend themselves. Usa 1967 and liberals are commies, Billk1567373, qzatr, oobuck,rusty bender, jimmy crackcorn, ed b, otter stepehn. thank you, you folks get it.
Wouldn't be easier to blame the individual that did the shooting and stole the cars in the first place? But if we are going to blame everything else that caused this guy to kill. Than I will say, "Parents"!!! We should ban them too along the guns, cars, toasters. Heck build a ditch around LA and let them shoot themselves, forget about the good people of LA. Use the government term, casualties of crime/war.
Gotta love those tight California gun-control laws, eh?
If the folks in the cars had guns this would have been over before it started. Guns kill people like Spoons made Rosie O'donnell FAT! We can have all the guns we want (Ar15's, handguns with huge magazines etc.) here in Montana & nobody got killed yesterday that didn't need killin!
Thank God there are still places like MONTANA!
LOL.....sorry struck acord...lol
How odd that the states with the most restrictive gun laws have the most gun crime... A true testament to the efficacy of strict gun laws having a negative impact on law abiding citizens.
all else fails... we can just throw bullets at them... LOL
i believe every American should have the right to bear arms. I also believe when you carry a weapon, the cosmos will bring you trouble. For all those innocents who lose their lifes to guns... its not to the guns but to the people shooting them. We cant blame guns for human behavior.... back in the beginning years we were killiing each other with sticks and stones.
If we could only get everyone to see the same views it would be eutopia. The end of the world will happen before that. SS