Update, 10:39 p.m.: Turns out the police chief was wrong about the suspect being a woman. According to the Los Angeles Times, the latest is that he was a man, and that he has been confirmed dead—unclear if he was killed by police or a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the motive is not known, meaning it’s not clear whether the shooting was meant to specifically target voters or not.
Original post: An active shooter situation near a pair of polling places in Azusa, California, about 30 miles outside of Los Angeles, has left one person dead and at least two others injured, Azusa’s acting police chief Steve Hunt said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. Hunt said there was a fourth individual “laying on the ground in the doorway” of a house near where the shooting took place, but could not say whether that individual was a victim or a suspect, or comment on his or her present condition.
Hunt said police were seeking a female suspect who was believed to have used an assault rifle with rapid fire capability during the attack. At this point that suspect has not been accounted for, the chief said, and the possibility that there was a second participant in the attack has not been ruled out. (Earlier Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times had reported that witnesses had seen a man with a gun.)
Hunt added that police received gunfire after they arrived at the scene, but that no officers were injured.
One voter says he was inside [the Memorial Park North Recreation Center] when he heard a bunch of shots ring out and people from outside starting to run in before officials locked the doors. He told CNN a “massive shooting is happening and the police have told us to stay indoors. We are currently on lock down.”
Another voter told CNN she heard the shots ring out.
“At first, I thought it was construction but people came running into the room saying they see a guy with a bulletproof vest and a white shirt. As of right now, they just have us in the voting room and are trying to keep us calm,” she said.
Officials were not allowing anyone to leave the building but people were still being allowed to vote while they waited, the woman said.
It almost goes without saying that the prospect of violence breaking out at a polling place was one of the top fears going into today’s election. This post will be updated as the situation develops.
This post has been updated with new information.
