A 44-year-old man faces multiple charges in connection with a Wednesday murder spree in Orange, California. The victims included a 9-year-old boy.
Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez of Fullerton was charged with four counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and two counts of attempted murder of a police officer, the Orange County District Attorneyâs Office announced Friday, according to KCAL-TV.
The victims were Matthew Farias, 9; Luis Tovar, 50; Jenevieve Raygoza, 28, and Leticia Solis, for whom no age was available. Blanca Tomayo, who is Fariasâs mother, was wounded and was listed in critical condition as of Friday.
Police said Gonzalez had a âbusiness and personal relationshipâ with the victims, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The shooting occurred around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday on the second floor of an office for Unified Homes, a manufactured housing business. Police allege that Gonzalez used bike cables to lock the gates to the complex where the office building was located.
Police were fired upon when they arrived at the scene, Orange Police Lt. Jennifer Amat said.
As of Friday, Gonzalez was in critical but stable condition. Amat said it was not clear whether police wounded him or whether his wound was self-inflicted, according to KNBC.
âIt is a horrible, horrible tragedy,â Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer said, according to the Times. âhat Mr. Gonzalez made a decision to use deadly force to deal with issues he was dealing with in his life. So he will suffer and face the consequences.â
A semiautomatic handgun was recovered at the scene, as was a backpack that contained pepper spray, handcuffs and ammunition, âwhich we believe belonged to the suspect,â Amat said.
When news of the shootings emerged, so did a vicious debate over race:
Tim Smith, who lives near the office complex where the shooting took place, said he heard multiple shots, according to the Times.
He said when he cracked a door he heard a police officer saying, âDonât move or I will shoot you.â
He then watched the police SWAT team move in.
âThe key part about that is that the next sound I heard after those horrible gunshots was an officer trying to protect me,â he said. âItâs scary in the moment with no knowledge, but when you do figure it out and you do get composure, it makes you grateful.â
The motive for the shootings was unclear as of Friday.
âNever in our wildest dreams did we think this could happen,â said Alec Torres, a partner at Unified Homes, who was not at the office during the attack. âWe were shocked to find out it was him. There was never any bad blood. He was just a very quiet person.â
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.