Six dead in shooting at California university

A gunman opened fire at a Christian university in California yesterday, killing at least six people and wounding three more, authorities said. Police say they have a suspect in custody.

The shooting erupted around midmorning local time at Oikos University in Oakland, according to City Council president Larry Reid.

Authorities earlier described the gunman as a heavyset Korean man in his 40s, wearing khaki clothing.

“I can confirm that we do have one person who has been detained that we believe is possibly responsible for this shooting,” said police officer Johnna Watson.

KTVU-TV reported that the gunman was a student at the university, and opened fire in a classroom.

Earlier, television news footage showed chaotic scenes as heavily armed officers swarmed the building in search of the shooter. The footage also showed bloodied victims on stretchers being loaded into ambulances.

Pastor Jong Kim, who founded the school about 10 years ago, told the Oakland Tribune he heard about 30 gunshots in the building. “I stayed in my office,” he said.

Angie Johnson told the San Francisco Chronicle she saw a woman leave the building with blood coming from her arm crying: “I’ve been shot. I’ve been shot.”

The injured woman said the gunman was a member in her nursing class who got up and shot one person at point-blank range in the chest before spraying the room with bullets, Ms Johnson said.

“She said he looked crazy all the time,” Ms Johnson said the victim told her, “but they never knew how far he would go.”

Four victims arrived at Highland Hospital for treatment, said spokeswoman Jerri Randrup.

Oikos University offers studies in theology, music, nursing and Asian medicine. Phone calls to Oikos were not returned.