Ethnic Korean on shooting spree in US

OAKLAND, Calif. (AFP) -- Seven people were killed and three injured Monday when a gunman went on a shooting rampage at a private California religious college near San Francisco, police said.

The suspect -- a local ethnic Korean resident who surrendered soon after the attacks -- stood up in a classroom at Oikos University in East Oakland and shot one person at point blank range in the chest, then sprayed the room with bullets, a witness recounted.

The gunman, described as looking "crazy," then allegedly went on a shooting spree through the Christian college, where victims were found in a number of locations when officers arrived after being alerted by a string of 911 calls.

Police did not immediately say what type of firearm the shooter used, or if he used multiple weapons.

Some 35 people were in or near the building at the time. Of those, 10 were hit and five were pronounced dead at the scene. Two others died later in hospital.

Survivors were later found hiding in locked classrooms and offices.

"There are seven (families) now that are having to deal with this horrendous act," Oakland City Council president Larry Reid told CNN.

"Our police department right now is doing their work and trying to understand what in fact was his motive to come and take the lives of seven individuals, and then also to leave three individuals wounded," he said.

The gunman was detained near a Safeway supermarket in the neighboring city of Alameda, where he had fled after the massacre, said Oakland police chief Howard Jordan.

"The suspect, who is believed to be an Oakland resident, surrendered to officers of the Alameda Police Department," he said. "He actually commandeered a victim's car, and drove it to Alameda."

Jordan said the suspect was believed to be a former student at the college with no previous criminal record.

"He is a Korean national," Jordan said, without specifying if he was from South or North Korea.

Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing officials at the Korean consulate in San Francisco, identified the shooter as Ko Won-il.

Yonhap also said the alleged shooter is a U.S. citizen of Korean descent.

Police described the suspect as "male, Asian, heavy build, khaki clothing."