California: 19-year-old kill a man and his daughter before committing suicide

A 19-year-old in a black cape and a paintball mask went on a shooting rampage yesterday in his upscale Southern California neighborhood, killing a man and his daughter before committing suicide, authorities said.

William Freund also fired shots into another house and confronted a neighbor outside, said Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino.

There was no known link between the teen and his victims, police said. "It may have been random," Amormino said.

A neighbor said Freund had attended high school with one of the victims.

Freund left his home about 9 a.m. and drove less than 100 yards (90 meters) to a house where he killed Vernon Smith, 45, and daughter Christina Smith, 22, with a shotgun, Amormino said. A 20-year-old son escaped after hearing shots.

Freund then walked across the street and fired into another house, Amormino said. A person inside suffered cuts from broken glass.

Another neighbor heard the commotion, came outside and was confronted by the teen, who tried to fire his weapon. When it misfired, Freund went back to his own house and committed suicide, Amormino said.

Police tape blocked off much of the large subdivision in the hills above Aliso Viejo, a wealthy section of south Orange County.

Built in 1995, the neighborhood of mostly beige two-story homes was described by residents as a family community where people often socialized.

The Smith house was known for its holiday decorations, including multiple Christmas trees put up each season and a snow village in the bay window, reported AP.