Man Who Gunned Down 6 Had Troubled Background

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. —  A man who killed six people before committing suicide was an aspiring actor who gambled away all of his money, suffered cancer and struggled in his relationship with his mother, authorities said Tuesday.

Revealing new details about the life of Lynwood C. Drake III, 43, sheriff’s deputies said the gunman who went on a rampage last weekend had worked in the past as a bartender and caterer and attended acting classes in New York.

“He was an aspiring actor. He did have a portfolio,” said Sgt. Candi Jones.

Last Thursday, two days before he gunned down three people in Morro Bay and three more in Paso Robles, Drake gambled away his remaining money, Jones said. Drake often frequented legal card clubs in the area.

Drake also called his estranged wife in North Dakota to check on the well-being of their young daughter, Jones said.

“That’s not uncommon . . . in a situation where somebody who’s going to do something drastic--take a life or take his own life--trying to tie up the loose ends and finish off old business,” the sergeant said.

In a suicide note found in Drake’s pants pocket, he harshly criticized his parents and a sister for his troubles, saying he had faced lifelong persecution.

Police reviewing Drake’s medical records also found that he had undergone seven surgeries for cancer in one leg, but a doctor told authorities the condition wasn’t life-threatening.

In a bloody rampage, Drake gunned down three people in Morro Bay on Saturday to avenge a rental dispute, then went to a Paso Robles card club where he fatally shot three people.

Drake then went to a house in rural San Miguel, where he took a woman hostage and beat her before he killed himself with a handgun, authorities said.