19-year-old caped shooter goes on killing spree

A 19-year-old in a black cape and helmet has gone on a shooting rampage in a wealthy southern California neighbourhood, killing a man and his daughter before committing suicide, authorities said.

The unidentified shooter drove to an Aliso Viejo house, where he shot and killed a 22-year-old woman and her 45-year-old father with a shotgun, said Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino.

A 20-year-old man, the brother and son of the victims, ran out the back of the house after hearing the shots, Amormino said.

The shooter walked across the street and fired into another house. After being confronted by a neighbour, he went back to his own house and committed suicide.

Authorities said the motive was not known and the shooter had no known link with the victims.