9-year-old boy among 4 victims of shooting in Orange, California, authorities say
A man, two women and a 9-year-old boy were killed in a mass shooting at a business Wednesday evening in Orange, California, authorities said Thursday. While the victims' identities were not released pending notification of their families, police said the boy is believed to be the son of one of the people who worked at the business, identified as United Homes.
"This appears to be an isolated incident, and we believe everyone knew each other," Orange Police Department Lieutenant Jennifer Amat said during a news conference Thursday morning.
Two other people, a woman and the 44-year-old man who is believed to be the shooter, are still hospitalized in critical condition. Authorities identified the suspect as Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez of Fullerton, California.
Police received five 911 calls regarding the incident, with the first coming in just after 5:30 p.m. local time. When officers arrived at the complex minutes later, they found the north and south gates to the complex locked from the inside by a bicycle-style cable lock, Amat said. She said officers engaged with the suspect and an officer-involved shooting occurred.
When police were able to force their way into the complex, they found the suspect injured in the courtyard, Amat said. Police also found the injured woman holding the boy in the courtyard, and the other victims in different parts of the complex.
"It appears all of the adults were connected, either by business or a personal relationship, and this was not a random act of violence," said Amat.
The complex includes businesses such as real estate services, counseling and insurance firms. Police said the suites where two of the victims were found were part of United Homes.
Police also found a semiautomatic handgun and backpack with handcuffs, pepper spray and ammunition, believed to belong to the suspect, Amat said.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said his office is investigating both the officer-involved shooting and the entire incident. Spitzer said Gonzalez could face the death penalty.
"It is a horrible, horrible tragedy that Mr. Gonzalez made a decision to use deadly force to deal with issues he was dealing with apparently in his life. But he will suffer and face the consequences," Spitzer said.
Amat said Gonzalez lived out of a motel in Anaheim and took a rental car to the site of the shooting.
Authorities said this was the city's deadliest shooting since 1997, when a former Caltrans employee killed four people.