A gunman believed to have opened fire on a bus and other vehicles near Santa Monica College is in custody Friday after at least three people were injured and firefighters discovered two bodies at a nearby house.
Authorities are investigating reports that the sequence of events began with a break-in at a home (map) about one mile northeast of the campus. Two bodies were discovered in the house, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.
A woman also was found with a gunshot wound in a car outside the burned home, a Santa Monica Fire Department official said.
Three victims shot near the Santa Monica, Calif., campus were taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center — two in critical condition and one in serious condition, according to the hospital.
The President's Santa Monica fundraiser is several blocks north of the campus.
"We are aware of the incident and it is not impacting the visit. It’s a local police matter at this point," said Secret Service Spokesman Edwin M. Donovan. 
At about noon, witnesses reported a "fully armed" subject discharging a firearm at vehicles in the area of Pearl Street and 17th Street (map), according to the California Highway Patrol. The gunman opened fire on public transit bus and cars, according to CHP Sgt. Denise Joslin.
"This guy just stepped out with a big rifle," a bus passenger told NBC4 Southern California.
Student Marta Fagerstroem told NBC4 she was studying on the bus, pictured above, when a gunman opened fire on the transit vehicle, which was on Pico Boulevard. The gunman came out from the passenger seat of a car, she said.
“Everyone threw themselves on the floor, screams,” Fagerstroem said. “The bus driver, she panicked. She couldn’t drive away. She was able to, after a while.”
A woman on the bus was hit and was bleeding from her head, she said. A spokesman for UCLA Medical Center said the woman was in good condition with a flesh wound and was likely hit by shrapnel.
The Santa Monica Big Blue Bus had several visible bullet holes. There were reports of injuries involving bus passengers, said CHP Officer Kerri Rivas, a department spokeswoman.
The agency received several 911 calls involving reports of shots fired in the area.
"We are aware of at least one suspect, there may possibly be others," Joslin said.
The two-year college in the 1900 block of Pico Boulevard is on lockdown Friday afternoon. All schools in the Santa Monica area are on lockdown, according to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
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Photo Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS