Police: Three Shot, One Fatally, at Sacramento City College; Gunman Sought

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (TheBlaze/AP) — Police hunted for a gunman Thursday night who opened fire at a Sacramento college parking lot, killing one person and wounding two others, authorities said.

One victim was declared dead at the scene, another was taken to a hospital with injuries, and the third was only grazed by a bullet and was being questioned by investigators, said Dustin Poore of Los Rios police, who patrol Sacramento City College.

Image source: KMAX-TV

One of the victims is a student at the college, but it was not immediately clear which. It was also unclear whether the others had any connection to the school.

The shooting near a baseball field at the edge of campus began as a verbal dispute between the group of men, one of whom pulled out a gun and fired, Poore said.

The suspect, wearing a white T-shirt and cargo shorts, fled on foot. Police told KMAX-TV the suspect is a Tongan man.

“I am walking out of class and I see this lunatic shooting two men, and I run the other direction because I feared him turning around and shooting me,” a freshman who said he saw the incident told KMAX.

After the shooting, which occurred around 4 p.m., the campus was locked down for about two hours before police officers had cleared all the buildings and allowed students and staff to leave.

Frantic students at Sac City College being told to evacuate buildings after gunman kills one, injures 2 on campus. pic.twitter.com/Ums8nQRJLZ

— Adrienne Moore (@AdrienneMooreTV) September 4, 2015

They had not found the suspect, and expected he had left the campus, though investigators were still combing the area, said Sgt. Doug Morse of the Sacramento Police Department, which was taking over the homicide investigation.

Evening classes were canceled.

Police descended from all directions on campus shortly before 4 p.m. after the gunfire broke out, and students told to stay in their classrooms and lock the door were filled with fear.

"My stomach dropped," student Lars Beesom told KCRA-TV. "It was definitely really, really scary, but we all stayed calm."

Beesom added, "It's school. It's supposed to be a good environment, and you don't want to be scared here."

Jackie Flores, 50, who lives across the street from the parking lot, said she heard four or five shots fired. "It all happened so fast," she told the Sacramento Bee.

More from KMAX:

Police say this incident could be connected to shooting that happened earlier in the day. A man who matches the description of the Sacramento City College shooter also shot and injured a man on Cottonfield Way, off Gerber Road in Sacramento. That victim was leaving home for work when the gunman reportedly shot him through the front windshield of his vehicle. He is expected to survive.

#CBS13 first to arrive to reported shooting off Gerber Rd. in Sac Co. Truck windshield has 3 apparent bullet holes. pic.twitter.com/0NgNifjpy6

— Nick Janes (@nick_janes) September 3, 2015

This story has been updated.

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