....In Ladera Ranch, a woman was shot several times and died before 4:45 a.m., said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Property records show the home is owned by Irfan and Sarwat Syed, who bought it in 2008.
The gunman is believed to have then headed north in an SUV, where three carjackings were reported in Santa Ana and Tustin. The gunman was reported to have fired several times, killing two people.
Officers caught up with the man believed to be the gunman and stopped his vehicle near Wanda Road and Katella Avenue. The man, described only as in his 20s, apparently killed himself after officers stopped his vehicle, said Lt. Paul Garaven of the Tustin Police Department.
The relationship between the woman shot in Ladera Ranch and gunman was not clear, Amormino said. At least one other person was inside the home on Red Leaf Lane, a street lined with live-work units.
Deputies were called to the home, but the man suspected of being the gunman fled in an SUV, Amormino said.
A neighbor said he heard what sounded like gunshots before 3 a.m. Tuesday morning, followed by a lot of noise at about 4 a.m.
“I was in the garage and the door was cracked,†said Jason Glass. “When I opened my garage door this morning, my whole house was covered in tape. What a way to wake up.â€
Tustin police then received reports of a carjacking at Red Hill Avenue and Nisson Road, where a bystander was shot, Garaven said. That person was wounded.
A second carjacking was then reported along Village Way and the 55 freeway, where the same man is believed to have shot and killed a driver before taking the vehicle.
Another driver in that area also drove in reverse on the southbound lanes of the 55 at about 5:20 a.m., trying to avoid a gunman, a witness said.
Damita Cunningham said the driver in front of her backed into her car and she chased after him trying to get the license number.
“We got off Edinger and he said, ‘You don’t know what happened,' †Cunningham said.
The driver told her he backed into her car because a man was pointing a gun at him.
“He panicked and backed into my car so he could get away,†she said.
Police continued to search for the gunman in the area until they received reports of a man with a gun near Edinger and Newport avenues. Two people were shot there before the man took yet another vehicle, Garaven said. One of the victims was taken to a hospital. The other victim died.
Officers were dispatched to multiple shooting scenes, but authorities found the man believed to be the gunman driving on the 55 freeway, Garaven said.
The vehicle was stopped by officers near Wanda and Katella.
“The suspect shot and killed himself,†Garaven said, before officers were able to contact him.
Residents stood outside the crime scene tape, where the body of the gunman was visible under a yellow tarp.
"I've never seen anything like this in this neighborhood," said Leo Kueny, a 44-year-old resident. "It's a very strange day."
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