A gunman opened fire at a pool party at a San Diego apartment complex on Sunday, killing 1 woman and injuring 6 others before police shot and killed him.
Peter Selis, 49, apparently targeted black people at the La Jolla Crossroads apartments swimming pool around 6 p.m.
Police are characterizing the mass shooting as a possible hate crime. Selis is white and at least 6 of the victims are black.
Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said eight people in total were shot, including the gunman.
Some of the injured are listed in critical condition at a local hospital. One man fractured his arm trying to escape the shooting.
According to
Heavy.com, Selis, a car mechanic, held a beer in one hand while spraying the pool area with bullets.
When Selis paused to reload his semiautomatic weapon, he reportedly warned witnesses, “You can either leave or you can stay here and die,” according to the
San Diego Union-Tribune.
Witnesses said the shooter, who seemed calm, targeted only black people at the pool.
Court records obtained by Heavy.com shows Selis had financial problems and was twice divorced with minor children.
CNN interviewed a student, Enzo Zhuang, who said he was in his apartment playing video games when he heard sounds of an argument followed by what he thought were firecrackers going off.
“I thought to myself, who would be lighting fireworks,” Zhuang said, adding,”it was always peaceful here before this happened.”
The apartment complex is located near the University of California San Diego campus.
