A California gunman stabbed three people to death at his home before going on a shooting rampage near a Santa Barbara university that left an additional four dead, including the suspect.
During a press conference, police identified the 22-year-old Elliot Rodger, the son of Hollywood director Peter Rodger-an assistant director on 'The Hunger Games' films series.
According to Fox News, Rodger had earlier been identified by his family, who said they had called police weeks before about disturbing YouTube videos he had posted online.
The gunman was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head at the end of Friday's rampage that authorities say was an act of 'premeditated mass murder'.
Eleven people were injured, including one who has undergone surgery, following the shooting spree in the beachside community of Isla Vista, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said.
Brown called the shooting a 'chaotic, rapidly unfolding convoluted incident' that involved multiple crime scenes, and also called the killer 'severely mentally disturbed'.
In a rambling rant posted on YouTube, Rodger promised to take revenge on sorority girls who had rejected him over the years.
The shootings began around 9:27 p.m. Friday when the driver began spraying bullets at people in a beachfront neighborhood near the Santa Barbara campus called Isla Vista.
The suspect tried to flee and crashed into a parked vehicle. When deputies approached the suspect, he was dead from an apparent gunshot wound. A semi-automatic handgun was recovered, the report added.
