LOS ANGELES – A man fired Wednesday night in one of the main cities of the agricultural center of California, killing his wife and four others before turning against him, said the authorities.

Although the exact reason for the killings was not revealed, Lt. Mark Mark, of the Kern County Sheriff's Office, said: "There is a strong indication" that it is safe. was acting in a domestic violence case. None of the names of deceased victims or gunmen were released.

The gunshots sounded shortly before 5:19 pm when dispatchers received several calls for shooting in the 600 block of Manwell Boulevard, King said. The arriving MPs found three victims, but the gunman had fled.

Fifteen minutes later, further calls were launched about a gunman in the 9400 block of Breckenridge Road in Bakersfield, California, about 90 miles north of Los Angeles. There, two more victims were found – and again the suspect was gone. At 5:49 pm, a woman stated that she was a victim of carjacking and that she was able to provide a description of her vehicle.

Five minutes later, a deputy saw the vehicle drive by a man who matched the suspect's description, King said. They parked the car in block 3300 of Edison Road. The suspect exited the vehicle with a large caliber handgun, but before he could be stopped, he turned his gun over and pulled the trigger.

Among the dead were the suspect's wife and another woman, King said, adding that the detectives continued to try to reconstruct the episode, including interrogating about thirty witnesses. He also stated that besides the wife, he was not aware of the relationship between the victims and the suspect.

Contributor: Associated Press

Read or share this story: https://usat.ly/2N9Onbd