Two people were found shot in a vehicle near Goleta Thursday afternoon, prompting a search for the shooter, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. 

One person was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Lt. Erik Raney.

Sheriff’s deputies, county firefighters and AMR ambulances were dispatched shortly after 12:30 p.m. to the 600 block of Burtis Street near Hollister Elementary School.

They found two victims in a parked vehicle, a 2012 Audi A3 hatchback, with the driver’s side front window broken out, Raney said.

The vehicle’s passenger was declared dead at the scene, and the driver was rushed to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

Neither victim was identified, and the driver was reported in “stable” condition at the hospital, Raney said.

Deputies set up a perimeter around the scene, and conducted a large-scale search for a single suspect who reportedly fled on foot, Raney said.

K9 units were called in Thursday afternoon to help with the investigation after two people were found shot in a vehicle — one fatally — on Burtis Street near Goleta. (Brooke Holland / Noozhawk photo)

He added that the suspect — described as a white male in his 20s with dark hair, possibly wearing baggy blue jeans and a gray shirt — is considered “armed and dangerous.”

A sheriff’s helicopter and K-9 teams also reportedly were brought in for the search.

As of 7 p.m., the suspect had not been located, Raney said, adding that investigators were still trying to determine a possible motive for the attack.

A shelter-in-place order was issued for residents south of Hollister Avenue, between Patterson Avenue and Turnpike Road, but was lifted as of 3:15 p.m. 

The neighborhood involved backs up to Atascadero Creek and then More Mesa, and deputies scoured the area, including the creekbed, looking for the suspect.

“The suspect is still outstanding, but is believed to have fled prior to law enforcement’s arrival,” the sheriff’s department said in a social media statement, calling the incident a homicide. 

The shooting was reported by a juvenile who ran into the office at Hollister School, Raney said.

Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.

— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

Sheriff’s deputies on scene Thursday afternoon after two people were found shot, one fatally, in a vehicle on Burtis Street near Goleta. (Brooke Holland / Noozhawk photo)