7 Dead In Postal Shooting

A female ex-postal worker opened fire at a mail processing plant, killing six people and critically wounding another before committing suicide, authorities said early Tuesday.

Deputies responding to a call of shots fired about 9:15 p.m. Monday found two people dead outside the plant, reports CBS station KCBS-TV reporter Jennifer Davis.

Two wounded women were located inside and were taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. One died and the other was listed in critical condition early Tuesday with a gunshot wound to the head.

Nearly five hours later, deputies found four additional bodies, including one believed to be the female shooter, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Jim Anderson said. The shooter, who was not identified, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, he said.

The Monday night rampage sent dozens of employees running from the sprawling distribution center and prompted authorities to warn nearby residents to stay indoors.

It was one of the deadliest shootings in a Postal Service facility since a series of high-profile cases in the mid '80s and early '90s, including one in which a part-time letter carrier killed 14 people in Edmond, Okla., and then took his own life.

Postal employee Charles Kronick told KEYT-TV in Santa Barbara that he was inside the building when shots rang out. Some 50 to 60 employees were seen running from the plant.

"I heard something that sounded like a pop, and then I heard a couple seconds later, another pop, pop, pop," Kronick said.

His boss came running over and told him to get out of the building, Kronick said, adding "We all hightailed it out real quick."

The victims' names were not immediately released. Sheriffs' Sgt. Erik Raney said all the victims were believed to be current employees.

A call to a U.S. Postal Service spokesman was not immediately returned early Tuesday.

The 200,000-square-foot facility is located across the street from a fire station, and Capt. Keith Cullom of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department said witnesses ran there immediately after gunfire broke out. It is also located just a few blocks from the University of California, Santa Barbara. About 300 people are employed at the plant in Goleta, about 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles.