US gunman 'was director's son'

Peter Rodger, an assistant director for the blockbuster 'Hunger Games' movie franchise, says his family believes his 22-year-old son, Elliot Rodger, was the gunman who shot dead six people late on Friday.

"On behalf of the Rodgers family, they want to make sure that the victims and the victims' families are aware that this is the tragedy of the most extreme," said Rodger's lawyer Alan Shifman.

"They want to send their deepest condolences to all of the victims' families involved."

Authorities have not confirmed the identity of the shooter, who is deceased.

The lone gunman sprayed bullets from a car in a drive-by shooting in Isla Vista, near the campus of the University of California Santa Barbara. The rampage left six people dead, and seven people hospitalized with gunshot wounds or other major injuries.

The gunman was found dead behind the wheel of his crashed BMW with a gunshot wound to the head. It was unclear whether the shot was self-inflicted or from sheriff's deputies, who twice exchanged fire with the gunman.

A semi-automatic handgun was recovered from the scene.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told reporters the shooting was premeditated.

"The problem with an incident like this is it's obviously the work of a madman," Brown said.

"We have obtained and we are currently analyzing both written and videotaped evidence that suggests this atrocity was a premeditated mass murder."

Witnesses described how a black BMW sped through the streets spraying bullets. One witness, Xavier Mozejewski, told a California-based television station that the incident was like an "old Western shoot-out."

Online video vows punishment

Shifman, the Rodger family attorney, said Elliot Rodger had been receiving treatment by "multiple" professionals since being diagnosed as a "highly functional Asperger's Syndrome child."

Shifman said the family called police several weeks ago, expressing their alarm over YouTube videos apparently posted by Elliot Rodger "regarding suicide and the killing of people."

One video, titled "Retribution," shows a man in a car who tells of being rejected by women, and later vows to "punish you all for it."

Shifman said police interviewed Elliot Rodger and found nothing untoward.

jr/mr (AP, AFP)