Gunman Kills Five People Before Shooting Self In Bakersfield

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.

It was not clear why the man went on the rampage, but there may be a connection between the shooter and the victims - all described as adults, Sheriff Donny Youngblood told reporters.

They learned that a husband and wife showed up at the trucking business to confront a man at the business.

Deputies say somebody else then showed up and fired at the husband and was also shot and killed by him.

Another person arrived on the scene and opened fire on the gunman.

But the gunman eventually tracked him down and killed him near Bear Mountain Sports, which is close to the trucking business.

"When the deputies responded, they located three victims of the shooting and the suspect had fled", said Lt King, adding that the man is believed to have shot two more victims at another location.

After carjacking a vehicle, the woman and child inside managed to escape. 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 Sheriff's Department said the shootings took only a short period of time and were not random.

At least five crime scenes were being investigated as deputies worked to backtrack the shooter's footsteps. "This is highly unusual". No names were released. The relation between the suspect and these two victims was unclear.