Four killed in California shooting

CHULA VISTA, Calif. (CNN) -- A gunman who opened fire in a high-rise apartment building Wednesday killed three people before apparently turning the gun on himself, police said.

Lt. Gary Wedge of the Chula Vista police said the body of the gunman was found in an apartment on the 15th floor along with the body of another victim.

Wedge said the gunman died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The body fit the description of the gunman given by a witness and also looked like a man seen on a videotape from the lobby where the bodies of two other victims were found.

Wedge described the suspect as a slim white man about 5'8" tall, in his 60s with gray hair pulled into a ponytail.

The suspect exchanged gunfire with police inside the high-rise building for low-income senior citizens, but authorities said they don't think he was hit by police gunfire.

Wedge said the first two victims were found in the lobby near a hallway in the 17-story-tall Congregational Towers. They were described as a woman in her 50s and a man whose age has not been determined.

The gunfire began around 2:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. EDT), he said.

A witness told police he heard yelling in the lobby and went to investigate. "He saw a female down on the ground with what appeared to be a gunshot wound, and also saw the male victim on the ground yelling for help. The witness looked up and saw the suspect pointing a gun at him, fired one round at the witness who turned and ran," Wedge said.

The witness was not injured.

"Shortly after this happened, I don't know whether they were residents or neighbors, flagged down a passing deputy sheriff, told him there were people down inside and shots had been fired," said Wedge.

Police evacuated residents of the building.

The identities of the gunmen and the three victims has not been released.

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Chula Vista Police Department

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