'You can leave... or die'
Calif. spree killer’s chilling warning
With a beer in one hand and a gun in the other, an auto mechanic opened fire on a San Diego pool party, fatally shooting one woman and injuring seven others before cops killed him, police said Monday.
“You can either leave or you can stay here and die,” Peter Selis told his victims as he opened fire on the crowd Sunday around 6 p.m. local time, according to witness Kaela Wong.
Selis, who was distraught about a recent breakup with his girlfriend, had been sitting near the pool at his apartment complex, the upscale La Jolla Crossroads, when he pulled out a .45-caliber Sig Sauer and began shooting at a group of revelers celebrating a birthday, police said.
“We looked at the pool area where the shooter was sitting there with a beer in one hand and a gun in the other,” a witness named John told Fox 5. “The suspect looked pretty relaxed.”
In the midst of the mayhem, Selis called up his ex-girlfriend, with whom he’d split a few days earlier. Reclining in a lounge chair, he told her he’d already shot two people and that police had arrived at the scene, according to San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman.
He then kept her on the phone as he continued to fire “indiscriminately” at roughly 30 party- goers, hitting people who were “just mere feet from him.”
“[He] wanted his girlfriend to listen in as he carried out his rampage,” Zimmerman explained.
Selis fired more rounds at police officers who’d arrived at the complex around 6:15 p.m. Three cops returned fire, killing him.
All told, Selis shot seven people, including a woman who later died at the hospital. An eighth victim broke his arm when he fell while trying to run away.
Selis’ victims included four black women, two black men and a Latino man — but cops said Monday they do not believe race played a role in the attack.
“We have zero information that this was racially motivated,” Zimmerman said. “These victims were just in his presence at the wrong place, at the wrong time.”
Partygoer Drew Phillips told the San Diego Union Tribune that, shortly before the shooting, his pal — who was celebrating his birthday — offered Selis food and drink, but he declined.
“Six or seven minutes later it’s just ‘Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!’ out of nowhere,” Phillips said. “There was no indication that he was there to do evil.”
Selis also had money troubles. In 2015, he filed for bankruptcy, listing more than $1000,000 worth of debt, records show.
“He made a terrible choice to commit unspeakable violence,” Zimmerman said.