Suspect in Seal Beach salon shooting massacre told police, "I know what I did"

(CBS/AP) SANTA ANA, Calif. - A father charged with murdering his ex-wife and seven other people confessed to police that he shot up a Seal Beach hair salon after arguing over custody of his 8-year-old son, court papers show.

Pictures: Seal Beach salon shooting

Scott Dekraai told an investigator he argued with his ex-wife Michelle Fournier over the phone the morning of Oct. 12, then took three handguns with extra magazines and ammunition and donned a bulletproof vest, according to a statement in support of a search warrant filed in Orange County Superior Court.

Dekraai then drove to Salon Meritage and shot Fournier and a woman who had testified against him in the custody dispute. When the salon owner rushed at him with scissors, Dekraai told the investigator he shot him as well. Dekraai said he then fired at others he saw as "collateral damage," according to the statement written by Detective Andrew Stowers.

Prosecutors say Dekraai shot eight people inside the salon, killing seven of them, then went outside and shot to death a man who was sitting in his car in the parking lot.

Dekraai told Seal Beach investigator Gary Krogman he thought the man was an off duty or undercover police officer who was reaching for a weapon when he shot him, according to the statement by Stowers, who is a police officer in the nearby city of Westminster.

Upon his arrest a short time late, Dekraai told the arresting officer, "I know what I did," court papers said.

Authorities later seized seven firearms from Dekraai's garage and three handguns were recovered from the pickup truck he was driving when he was arrested, the court papers show.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Dekraai, who is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 29 on eight counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

Authorities say Dekraai went on the rampage to seek revenge against Fournier, a stylist at the salon.

In recent months, Dekraai had been trying to gain more control over his son's affairs and have his school changed, but a court-appointed psychologist had recently weighed in on the dispute and recommended the former couple's shared custody arrangement remain the same, said Fournier's attorney, John Cate.

Since the shooting, Dekraai's son has been in the care of Fournier's adult daughter from a previous marriage,  according to family court filings. She is seeking guardianship of the boy.

Complete coverage of the Seal Beach salon shooting on Crimesider