A gunman has killed six people in drive-by shootings in the Californian city of Santa Barbara, US police say.

The shootings took place on Friday night in the Isla Vista neighbourhood, next to the University of California-Santa Barbara, where two-thirds of the residents are students.

Seven people were also injured. The suspected gunman is among the dead.

University officials and the police issued alerts calling on people in the area to stay indoors.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said the shootings occurred at several sites in Isla Vista, and there were nine crime scenes.

He indicated to local media that police were familiar with a YouTube video entitled Elliot Rodger’s Retribution, which shows a young man complaining about years of rejection by women.

The suspected gunman was found dead in his crashed car, with a gunshot wound to his head.

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