News Service from House Harris

US: Gunman kills 2, wounds 7 outside US club for young revellers

PORTLAND, Oregon Jan 25 AP - A gunman has opened fire outside an under-21s nightclub in the US state of Oregon, killing two girls and wounding seven other people before shooting himself.

A Peruvian exchange student was killed outside the club in Portland, as was an American girl preparing for a trip as an exchange student.

Four of the wounded were students from Ecuador, France, Guatemala and Taiwan, officials said.

Police believe the shooting at The Zone nightclub late on Saturday may have been a random act of violence.

Officers have identified the shooter as Erik Salvadore Ayala, 24. He remained in hospital in a critical condition on Sunday after shooting himself in the head.

Police spokeswoman Detective Mary Wheat said the shooting did not appear connected to gangs.

And there was no indication the shooter had a relationship with any of the people he shot including a man hit by a stray bullet outside a neighbouring bar.

Wheat said investigators were trying to determine Ayala's path to the club, but it did not appear he had been inside it or the nearby bar beforehand.

Police seized a car in Portland that is associated with Ayala and have recovered the gun used in the shooting.

"At first blush, this incident appears to be a random act of violence of the kind that makes you despair for America," said Chief Rosie Sizer of the Portland Police Bureau.

Sizer described the shooting as "unprecedented" in the city.

The dead American teenager was identified as Ashley Wilks, 16, of Portland.

The other victim has not been identified but Miguel Velasquez, of the Peruvian Consulate in Seattle, said she was a 17-year-old girl from Peru in an exchange program.

He said her host family lived in Washington.

Both girls were part of a group of exchange students at The Zone to celebrate a birthday, said Chuck Itoh, chairman of the Rotary District 5100 exchange program.

The Portland girl was getting ready to leave for her trip.

Of the others shot and wounded, one was in a critical condition on Sunday; two were treated and released. The rest were hospitalised, but expected to survive.

Scott Bieber, the youth protection officer for the exchange program, said four of the wounded were exchange students. They were residents of Ecuador, France, Guatemala and Taiwan.

"Our hearts and our sympathies, thoughts and prayers go out to the victims' parents for their loss," Bieber said.

"But it just kind of makes it harder to fathom when the whole purpose of this program is to foster peace and goodwill and understanding around the world."