As the investigation continues on yesterday’s mass shooting in Orange, new information was released by the city’s police department.
The shooting occurred Wednesday at approximately 5:30 p.m. when the Orange Police Department was notified of gunshots in a business complex on the 200 block of West Lincoln Avenue. Police arrived on the scene within minutes of the call but were unable to enter the building’s courtyard.
“It appears the suspect used a bicycle-type cable lock to secure the gates from the inside on both the north and south sides of the courtyard,” Lt. Jennifer Amat of the Orange Police Department said.
Police engaged from outside the complex as gunshots were fired by the gunman. After forced entry, the police located a suspect who was taken into custody.
The suspect was identified as Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez, 44, from Fullerton. Gonzalez was transported to a local hospital with a gunshot wound and is in critical but stable condition, although it is still unclear if the injury was self-inflicted.
Police found five victims throughout the premises, four of them were deceased: two adult females, an adult male and a 9-year-old boy. The fifth victim, an adult female, was found injured, embracing the child in her arms. She was transported to a local hospital and is currently in critical but stable condition.
The identity of the victims has not been released as the next of kin are yet to be notified. It is unsure if there were other witnesses on the premises.
No police were injured or killed during the shooting.
The shooting occurred at the offices of the Unified Homes’ real estate business, authorities confirmed. Investigators were able to recover a semi-automatic handgun, and a backpack containing pepper spray, handcuffs and ammunition which were believed to be owned by Gonzalez.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer emphasized the shooting was an isolated incident and that all persons involved were known to each other through business or personal relationships. The motive of the suspect is still under investigation.
“I’m here to make something very, very clear. Mr. Gonzalez is eligible for the death penalty. This is a special circumstances case, there were multiple victims,” he said. “He will suffer and face the consequences.”
“We haven’t had an incident like this in the city of Orange since 1997, our Caltrans shooting,” Lt. Amat said Wednesday. Four people were killed in the Caltrans shooting, including the gunman.
Wednesday’s incident marks the third mass shooting in the United States occurring within two weeks after the country saw a decline since the start of the pandemic.
City of Orange Mayor Mark A. Murphy was invited to speak. “I think first and foremost, our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims,” he said. “I ask the entire community to put those thoughts and prayers and support, and lift up those victims and families.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), FBI, Orange County DA and the Orange Police Department are currently on scene investigating.
If additional information related to the shooting is known, please call the Orange Police Department at (714) 744-7444.
More details to come.
