(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>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>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>
• 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>Authorities say gunman kills five people, self in Bakersfield, California

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say gunman kills five people, self in Bakersfield, California.</s>A man killed his ex-wife and four others across three locations on Wednesday near Bakersfield, California, before killing himself as a sheriff’s deputy confronted him, authorities said.

The shootings, which spanned 30-35 minutes over roughly half a square mile, appeared to be targeted attacks stemming from a possible domestic violence case, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said Thursday.

Along the way, the suspect stole a vehicle from a woman and her child but let them live, Youngblood said. He told the woman something to the effect of “he wasn’t a bad person,” Youngblood said.

“It appears to be there’s more than just a (former) husband and wife having a fight, because other people were targeted. There’s a reason for that, and we need to find that reason,” the sheriff said.

The shootings started around 5:15 p.m. Wednesday at T&T Trucking, where the gunman — after arriving there with his ex-wife — used a .50-caliber handgun to fatally shoot a man, Youngblood said.

He then shot his ex-wife, killing her, according to the sheriff.

Another male then fled from the building, and the gunman gave chase, getting into his vehicle and driving to the front of a nearby hunting equipment shop. The gunman found that person outside the shop and shot and killed him, Youngblood said.

The gunman then drove to a nearby home, where he shot and killed a male and a female, the sheriff said.

He then hijacked a vehicle with a woman and child inside, but the gunman let them go, Youngblood said. He headed to a nearby highway, where he saw a deputy and pulled over into a lot.

As the deputy drew a weapon and confronted him, the gunman shot himself fatally in the stomach, Youngblood said.

The names of the gunman and the five people he’s said to have killed weren’t immediately available.

The gunman and his ex-wife had been divorced four months, and she had just filed for a new hearing regarding child support and property values, Youngblood said Thursday.

Investigators aren’t sure about a motive, but it appears the former couple had some type of connection to the trucking company, and the shootings appeared well-planned, Youngblood said.

Investigators intend to question about 30 witnesses in the case, Youngblood said.</s>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.</s>BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say gunman kills five people, self in Bakersfield, California.</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.
Five people are killed in a string of shootings in Bakersfield, California, before the gunman fatally shoots himself.