Alleged California shooter knew his victims

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Officials outside the scene of a shooting in Orange, Calif., on Thursday Associated Press/Photo by Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register

Alleged California shooter knew his victims

Police identified the suspect accused of shooting and killing four people at an office complex south of Los Angeles on Wednesday as 44-year-old Aminadab Gonzalez. Orange Police Lt. Jennifer Amat told reporters on Thursday that this was not a random act of violence and seemed “to be related to a business and personal relationship which existed between the suspect and all of the victims.”

Do we know anything else? The youngest victim was a 9-year-old boy. The gunman also shot and killed a man and two women. A third woman survived but was injured. The gunman evidently planned the attack ahead of time, including ways to slow first responders at the scene. Amat said he used a lock to secure several entrances. Gonzalez survived but remains hospitalized with a gunshot wound.

Dig deeper: Read Kyle Ziemnick’s report in Compassion about a spike in homicides in U.S. cities over the summer.

Leigh Jones

Leigh is features editor for WORLD. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate who spent six years as a newspaper reporter in Texas before joining WORLD News Group. Leigh also co-wrote Infinite Monster: Courage, Hope, and Resurrection in the Face of One of America's Largest Hurricanes. She resides with her husband and daughter in Houston, Texas.