Another shooting spree was reported in the US on Friday. This time, a gunman wearing a bullet vest killed at least six people in Santa Monica, California, on Friday before he was shot dead by police at a library of a community college.

Santa Monica police chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said the rampage began just before noon on Friday when emergency calls reported shots fired and a house on fire.

Officers arriving at the scene found a home engulfed in flames. The bodies of at least two men - said to be related to the gunman - were discovered inside.

There are unconfirmed reports the pair were the man's father and brother.

Students at the campus library described a scene of pandemonium as the sounds of gunfire rang out, sending students scurrying for cover.

One student inside the library, Cyrus Jabari, 19, said he could see through a window a man dressed in black with a buzz-style haircut carrying what appeared to be an assault rifle.

The man shot at a police car and at officers before being chased into the school's library, where the suspect was killed after a shoot-out.

Chief Seabrooks said the unidentified gunman, described as a white male between the ages of 25 and 35, was armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

This incident will sure rekindle the assault weapon ban debate the heated up after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut late last year.

It's rather unfortunate that it takes incidents such as this to get the gun laws conversations started. Enough of the fire brigade approach to this issue, the lawmakers need to take a stand - either ban assault weapons or tighten the existing laws to reduce the chances of the folks obtaining them illegally.

Expect another round of excessive media coverage on gun laws. Only time will tell if our lawmakers have the willpower to address this issue head on.

One thing is for sure, this isn't going to be the last shooting spree. I hope we don't merry-go-round and play politics as usual.

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/06/shooting-spree-kills-six-in-santa.html