Gunman Kills 8 At Hair Salon In Southern California
Oct. 13 2011, Published 7:00 a.m. ET
Breaking Celebrity News Staff Writer
Authorities said a gunman opened fire at Seal Beach, California hair salon Salon Meritage on Wednesday, killing eight people and leaving a ninth in critical condition, with friends and neighbors saying a custody battle was at the heart of the violent rampage.
“We thought it was maybe firecrackers,” an Anaheim woman named Cindy, who was getting her hair done during the shooting, told the LA Times. “But he just didn’t stop. Anybody he saw he was shooting. It went boom, boom, boom ... I was afraid he was going to shoot everybody."
Who Is Suspected Gunman Scott Dekraai?
The suspected gunman -- Scott Dekraai -- was arrested about a half-mile from the salon, Seal Beach Police Sgt. Steve Bowles said.
Dekraai’s ex-wife, Michelle Dekraai, a cosmetologist at the salon, was among those killed in the attack.
"There may be something to the motive as to a relationship with somebody in the salon ... that is our assumption,” Bowles said. “This could be one of our greatest tragedies.”
Following the arrest of Dekraai, a 42-year-old tug boat operator, police were seen cordoning off his Huntington Beach, California home with crime scene tape.
At a memorial service at Seal Beach's SeaCoast Grace Church Wednesday night,