At least four people were killed and four more injured in a shooting at a Halloween party in Orinda, California, police have confirmed. The suspect is reportedly still at large.
According to initial reports, a heavy-set black male in an orange hoodie was seen indiscriminately firing what appeared to be a automatic pistol into the residence before fleeing the scene.
Police responded to reports of a person firing at partygoers at 10:45pm local time on Thursday, and six ambulances were summoned to the home amid reports of a large number of dead and wounded.
The Contra Costa County sheriff's office confirmed four fatalities and multiple injuries, promising further details later.
According to some media outlets, there were believed to be “hundreds” of revelers at the Halloween party, and people desperately fleeing the scene may have hampered emergency services. Multiple people reportedly checked into nearby hospitals with gunshot wounds and injuries sustained in the panic, while an air ambulance was also called to the house.
Several people were injured jumping from the second-story balconies and windows of the residence trying to flee the shooting. It’s believed the house was being rented out as an Airbnb.
Orinda is a community of about 18,000 residents just east of Berkeley, in the San Francisco Bay area. It has a reputation for being peaceful, including a 2012 ranking as the "second most friendly town in America" by Forbes magazine.
This was the second shooting at a Halloween party in California this week. Three people were killed and nine others injured in Long Beach, California on Tuesday night. The suspect in that shooting is still on the run as well.
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