A gunman killed four people including a 9-year-old boy at an office park in Orange, authorities said on Thursday. The suspect was armed with weapons, pepper spray, and handcuffs, The Orange Police Department said.
According to the police, the shooting occurred inside a real estate and manufactured home business, United Homes. Police said the gunman and the victims were connected with business ties. However, the motive of the shooting remains unknown.
The attack, which happened on Wednesday, was not random, the police officials said.
Police responded to calls of shots been fired at a business in the 200 blocks of West Lincoln Avenue at around 5 p.m, said Lt. Jennifer Amat. She said the officers encountered gunfire when they reached the scene and opened fires. Officers fired through the locked gates and injured the gunman, Amat said,
Police entered the scene, cutting the locks at the gate, where they found the bodies of a woman and a 9-year-old boy. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman, who was apparently trying to save the boy, was severely injured and taken to the hospital, District Attorney Todd Spitzer said.
The woman is said to be in stable yet critical condition.
Police found three more dead bodies which included a man and two women in the complex. Officers also recovered a semiautomatic handgun and a backpack with pepper spray, handcuffs, and ammunition from the scene. The recovered items all believed to belong to the gunman, Amat said.
The suspect is Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez, 44, last known to be living in Anaheim, who police said had a “business and personal relationship” with the victims.
The victims have not been identified yet by the police.
Spitzer said that his office (District Attorney's Office) might be seeking a death penalty for the suspect looking at the severity of the crime.
“It is a horrible, horrible tragedy,” Spitzer said, “that Mr. Gonzalez decided to use deadly force to deal with issues he was dealing with in his life. So he will suffer and face the consequences.”
