California: At least five people are dead and several others injured after a gun rampage in the beachfront city of Santa Monica, California, police say.

The attack began at a house and ended on a college campus where police say they shot the gunman in the library.

Police initially put the death toll at six, but later revised it to five people dead, including the shooter.The gunman was in his late 20s and had been carrying an assault-style rifle, say witnesses.

President Barack Obama was at a fundraiser not far from where the shooting unfolded just before noon on Friday.

“Boom, boom, boom” the gunman, dressed in black and wearing an ammunition belt and bullet-proof jacket, began by firing shots at the house, witnesses said.

There are reports that the first two victims were the gunmans father and brother.

As told by the witnesses,the gunman then walked to the street corner, pointed his gun at a driver and told her to pull over,he then signalled to another car with a female driver to slow down and fired into the car several times.

Authorities say the violence then moved to a street corner near Santa Monica College where the suspect fired at passing vehicles.

The gunman then entered the campus where he is said to have shot a woman as he made his way towards the college library.Santa Monica College, which has about 34,000, was placed on lockdown for about two and a half hours.