8 dead in Calif. salon shooting; Suspect held
Eight people were killed and one critically wounded Wednesday when a gunman opened fire in a busy hair salon, leaving victims’ bodies scattered throughout the business in a normally sedate Southern California beach community.
The gunman got into a car and drove away from Salon Meritage. He was stopped by officers about a half-mile away and surrendered without incident, said police Sgt. Steve Bowles.
Multiple weapons were found in the vehicle and KTLA-TV reports that the suspect was wearing body armor at the time of his arrest.
His name was not immediately released.
Police were struggling to determine the motive for the killings.
“There may be something to the motive as to a relationship with somebody in the salon, that is our assumption,” Bowles said.
Seal Beach has seen just one other homicide in the past four years.
Six of the victims were killed at the scene of the shooting, while two others who were critically wounded later died at area hospitals.
Bowles said the victims’ bodies were scattered throughout the salon. One wounded person, a man, was found outside the building. It wasn’t clear if he was trying to flee when he was shot.
“We’re unsure at this point if he shot from the entrance and people, as they were shot, ran in seeking cover or seeking shelter, but we have fatalities throughout the salon,” Bowles told reporters at a news conference outside the business.
“From my observation, it did look like people were seeking shelter at the time,” he said.
He said the salon was busy at the time, with every hair-dressing station in operation.
He didn’t know what type of weapon was used or if the man used more than one.
Salon employee Lorainne Bruielle, who wasn’t working Wednesday, told the Long Beach Press-Telegram the gunman was the husband of another employee…