San Diego Mass Shooting: Gunman, 1 Victim Dead; 6 Injured; Police Investigate Motive

SAN DIEGO, CA — An auto mechanic who carried out a shooting rampage at his University City apartment complex that left a woman dead and six others wounded was distraught over a breakup and targeted his victims randomly, police said Monday.

Peter Raymond Selis, 49, fired a large-caliber handgun into a crowd of birthday party revelers in a pool area at the apartment complex in the 9000 block of Judicial Drive just after 6 p.m. Sunday before being killed by officers, according to San Diego police.

A half-dozen of the victims were black and one was Latino, but authorities do not believe the rampage was an ethnicity-based hate crime, San Diego police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said.

"There is zero information to indicate that race played a factor in this terrible and horrific crime," Zimmerman told news crews during a late- morning briefing. "The victims were targeted for no other reason but their mere presence in the vicinity of the (shooting)."

Four women and three men suffered bullet wounds during the assault. One of the female victims died later in the evening at a hospital. Her name was withheld pending family notification. A fourth man suffered a broken arm fleeing the gunfire.

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Two of the victims remained in critical but stable condition at hospitals Monday morning, according to police.

It was unclear if the assailant knew any of the victims.

Investigators have determined that Selis' girlfriend had broken up with him several days before, leaving him "distraught" and depressed, the police chief said.

He was sitting in a lounge chair drinking a beer and speaking to his former girlfriend on his cellphone during the shooting spree, Zimmerman said.

"It is apparent that Selis wanted his ex-girlfriend to listen in as he carried out his rampage," the chief told reporters.

When officers arrived, Selis fired in the direction of one of them, prompting three of the personnel to return fire, according to the SDPD. He died at the scene.

Selis, who worked at a Ford dealership, was also deeply in debt and had filed for bankruptcy in 2015, according to news reports.

One of the shooter's neighbors, who requested anonymity, told 10 News that Selis' daughters told her alcohol abuse and depression likely played roles in the rampage. They said their father had undergone substance-abuse treatment and attempted suicide several times about a decade ago.

One of the victims, 34-year-old Thomas Blea, told reporters during a news conference at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla that he was deeply thankful for the efforts of police and medical personnel in aiding him following the ordeal.

"Staff here at Scripps is great," Blea told reporters. "They welcomed me. They did above and beyond. Everybody's done above and beyond. ... It was a terrible experience that we went through. But I'm glad that ... I'm all right. I'm glad that most of my friends are all right."

On Monday, Mayor Kevin Faulconer thanked San Diegans for their "incredible outpouring of support for the victims and their families" of Sunday's shooting.

He also praised police and fire personnel for their "heroic actions" in responding to the situation.

"Truly quick actions, quick responses, the decisions that they made ... absolutely precluded further bloodshed," Faulconer said. "It was remarkable teamwork and effort under extraordinary circumstances yesterday."

Councilwoman Barbara Bry, who represents the area, thanked the police who responded and the emergency medical personnel who worked through the night to save the gunshot victims.

"As a mother and a grandmother, I cannot think of anything more devastating than losing a loved one to senseless gun violence," Bry said in a statement.

"I offer my deepest condolences to the family of the victim who passed away as a result of (Sunday's) shooting at La Jolla Crossroads," she said. "I am sending thoughts and prayers to the other victims currently receiving medical care."

Bry added that she was "still in shock that a shooting of this magnitude happened right here in San Diego."

Other San Diego representatives shared their thoughts on Twitter.

"My condolences to the family and friends of the woman killed in the senseless shooting in Univ. City. I pray for healing of all the injured," City Council President Myrtle Cole tweeted.

Chris Ward, who represents downtown, Hillcrest and North Park, wrote: "Horrible tragedy in University City. Thoughts and prayers with the victims today as we learn more. #EndGunViolence."

By City News Service

Patch file photo by Maggie Avants