GOLETA, Calif. (AP) — A Hollywood director believes his son was the lone gunman who went on a shooting rampage near the University of California, Santa Barbara that killed six people — weeks after the family had called police about disturbing YouTube videos he had posted, his lawyer said Saturday.

Deputies found the gunman dead behind the wheel of his crashed BMW with a gunshot wound to his head Friday night in the beach neighborhood of Isla Vista, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said. The rampage also left seven others hospitalized with gunshot wounds or other major injuries, including one who underwent a life-saving surgery.

Alan Shifman — a lawyer  who represents Peter Rodger, one of the assistant directors on “The Hunger Games” — issued a statement on behalf of the family saying they believe Rodger’s son, Elliot Rodger, was the shooter.

“The Rodger family offers their deepest compassion and sympathy to the families involved in this terrible tragedy. We are experiencing the most inconceivable pain, and our hearts go out to everybody involved,” Shifman said.

Authorities have not confirmed the identity of the shooter.

The shootings started around 9:30 p.m. in Isla Vista, a roughly half-square mile community next to UC Santa Barbara’s campus and picturesque beachside cliffs.

Alexander Mattera, 23, said his friend Chris Johnson was walking out of an improv comedy show when he was shot in front of a popular pizza place. He stumbled into a nearby house.

“He walked into these random guys’ house bleeding,” he said.

Mattera was sitting at a bonfire with friends when at least one gunshot whizzed overhead. The friends ran for cover when they heard the barrage of gunfire.

“We heard so many gunshots. It was unbelievable. I thought they were firecrackers,” he said.

The gunman got into two gun battles before crashing his black BMW into a parked car. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he was killed by gunfire or if he committed suicide.

A semi-automatic handgun was recovered from the scene near the university.

A visibly shaken student told KEYT-TV that she was approached by the driver of a black BMW who flashed a handgun and asked “Hey, what’s up?” The student, who didn’t provide her full name, said she thought he was carrying an airsoft gun and kept walking. She said seconds later, she felt something buzz by her head and quickly realized they were bullets.

The victims’ identities were not immediately released.

In a statement, the university said it’s “shocked and saddened” by the shootings. The university said several students were shot and taken to the hospital.

“This is almost the kind of event that’s impossible to prevent and almost impossible to predict,” UC President Janet Napolitano told reporters after giving the commencement speech at Laney College in Oakland, California.

Brown said authorities were analyzing a disturbing YouTube video posted that shows a young man describing plans to shoot women that appears to be connected to the attack.

“It’s obviously the work of a madman,” Brown said.