5 Dead in Gun-Controlled California After Golf Course Argument

YORK, ENGLAND - APRIL 22: Police cordon tape seals off a street where police are searching
Christopher Furlong/Getty

At least two people were fatally shot and others burned to death following an argument at a golf course in Santa Maria, California.

The Associated Press reports that two shooting fatalities were 70-year-old Kurt Bracke and 78-year-old Richard Hanen. One of the men was found dead in the clubhouse, and one was found lying in the grass.

The gunman fled to his mobile home, which quickly burst into flames. The fire spread to other mobile homes in the park as well, and three people, including the gunman, were found in the rubble.

Police reported a situation where ammunition was sporadically exploding in the gunman’s mobile home. Police Chief Phil Hansen said, “All throughout the firefighting efforts, ammunition was cooking off.”

The Santa Maria Times reports that the two shooting victims got into an argument with the gunman on the “park’s pitch-and-putt golf course” prior to the sound of gunfire.

Police have yet to say if any of the burned victims were also shot.

California has universal background checks, a ten-day waiting period for gun purchases, an “assault weapons” ban, a confiscatory red flag law, a requirement that would-be gun buyers first acquire a safety certificate from the state, a ban on campus carry for self-defense, a “good cause” requirement for concealed carry acquisition, and numerous other gun controls.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.

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