Fifth victim dies after California shooting rampage

By Jonathan Allen

(Reuters) - A college student shot during a gunman's rampage in Santa Monica, California, died on Sunday, the school said, two days after her father and three other people were killed in the same attack.

Marcela Franco, 26, was one of the final victims of the gunman's spree, which began on Friday morning when he fatally shot his brother and father and apparently set their house on fire, police said.

The gunman then hijacked a woman's car, forcing her at gunpoint to drive toward Santa Monica College while he fired at people through the window, they said.

Franco was being driven by her father to the college campus to pick up textbooks for her summer classes when the gunman shot at their vehicle.

Her father, Carlos Navarro Franco, a groundskeeper at the college, died at the scene, and she was critically wounded.

Another woman was fatally shot outside the college library.

The gunman, who authorities said was a day shy of his 24th birthday, was shot and killed by police.

Marcela Franco was hospitalized at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in grave condition and died on Sunday morning with family members at her side, Chui Tsang, the college's president, said in a statement posted on the school's website.

"Marcela had registered to attend classes this summer at SMC and was with her father Carlos when Friday's tragedy struck," he said.

The college said it established a memorial honoring the Franco family and is planning a memorial ceremony.

The gunman was identified as John Zawahri by various media organizations, but Santa Monica Police did not respond to requests for confirmation on Sunday.

The Los Angeles Times cited law enforcement sources as saying the suspect was believed to have lived with his mother, had suffered from mental health problems and was angry over his parents' divorce.

Santa Monica Police said the gunman was enrolled at the college, possibly along with a family member, as recently as 2010.

The gunman had "contact" with law enforcement in 2006, police have said, but would not give further details because he was a juvenile at the time.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Vicki Allen)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gunman-california-killing-spree-had-prior-brush-law-013658407.html

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