1 killed, 2 wounded in shooting at Sacramento college

SACRAMENTO -- Police searched for a gunman Thursday night who killed one person and wounded two others in a parking lot on a Sacramento college campus, authorities said.

One victim was declared dead at the scene, another was taken to a hospital with injuries, and the third was only grazed by a bullet and was being questioned by investigators, said Dustin Poore of Los Rios police, who patrol Sacramento City College.

One of the victims is a student at the college, but it was not immediately clear which. It was also unclear whether the others had any connection to the school.

The shooting near a baseball field at the edge of campus began as a verbal dispute between the group of men, one of whom pulled out a gun and fired, Poore said.

The suspect, wearing a white T-shirt and cargo shorts, fled on foot.

The campus was locked down for about two hours before police officers had cleared all the buildings and allowed students and staff to leave.

They had not found the suspect, and expected he had left the campus, though investigators were still combing the area, police said.

Evening classes were canceled.

Freshman Kimberly Jenkins said she was coming out of class shortly before 4 p.m. when police descended on the school, telling the Sacramento Bee that "We saw the cop cars just zoom through" campus from all directions.

Jackie Flores, 50, who lives across the street from the parking lot, said she heard four or five shots. "It all happened so fast," she told the Bee.

Classes were in session at the two-year college in central Sacramento with a student body of about 25,000. The fall semester began Aug. 22.

The corner of campus where the shooting occurred is surrounded by strip malls with chain restaurants on one side and a golf course on the other.

The Sacramento Police Department will handle the homicide investigation, authorities said.