Gunman kills eight in California salon massacre

A gunman opened fire in a busy hair salon, killing eight people and critically wounding another while leaving bodies scattered throughout the business in a normally sedate Southern California beach community.

The gunman got into a truck and drove away from Salon Meritage after opening fire yesterday. Scott Evans Dekraai, 42, was stopped by officers about a half-mile away and surrendered without incident while saying he had multiple weapons with him, police sergeant Steve Bowles said.

Dekraai was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder, Bowles said.

In all, one man and five women died at the salon, one man and one woman died after being transported to a nearby hospital, and one woman remained in critical condition. Their names have not been released.

Friends of the salon owner said the gunman was the ex-husband of a stylist who worked there. Bowles would only say, "There may be something to the motive as to a relationship with somebody in the salon, that is our assumption." He declined to elaborate later.

Kimberly Criswell, who owns a salon just two doors down from the scene of the shootings, said she and her customers and employees heard gunshots, and her receptionist saw a man through a window as he was shot in a parking lot.

"There was like a 'pop, pop' and my receptionist screamed, 'he just shot that man' and we all ran into the bathroom and locked the door,"' Criswell said.

Glenn Zachman, who owns a video newsgathering service, said he arrived at the scene of the arrest shortly after police and saw they had placed plastic bags over the man's hands to preserve possible gunshot residue.

He also saw a bulletproof vest on the back of a patrol car but didn't know if the man, dressed in a button-down shirt and pants, had been wearing it.

The man, in handcuffs, was placed in a patrol car and taken away about two-and-a-half hours after the shooting. A new white pickup truck that was believed to be his was parked on the modest residential street with its doors open.

The man was cooperative when officers, working from a description of the shooter, stopped him near the salon, Bowles said.

Shortly after he was arrested, police arrived at a house on Melody Lane in nearby Huntington Beach and escorted two women to a white car and then roped off the house with crime scene tape. Neighbours identified photos of the alleged shooter as their neighbour Scott. The house is registered to Scott Dekraai, and one of the licensed cosmetologists at the salon was Michelle Dekraai.

Kari Salveson of Los Alamitos, who attended a service for the victims at SeaCoast Grace Church in Seal Beach, said she had known Michelle Dekraai for several years and was aware that she and her ex-husband were involved in a bitter custody dispute over their son.

She said Michelle Dekraai made her every visit to the salon special.

"She could gab away. She was one of those girlfriends you could never get enough of. She made you smile and she made you laugh," Salveson said.

Several people who knew Michelle DeKraai also said she sometimes went by her maiden name of Huff and it was unclear which one she was currently using.

In Huntington Beach, people were shocked to learn that one of the friendliest men in the neighbourhood had been arrested for the shootings.

Dekraai's neighbours described him as a friendly man who invited them over for pool parties at the house he'd lived in for about six years. They said he doted on his son, playing catch with the boy in his garden.

Neighbours said they were aware Dekraai was in a custody battle with his ex-wife over their son, who neighbours said is seven or eight years old.

"It was a very difficult battle and he was trying to get more time" with his son, said Jo Cornhall, who lives across the street from Dekraai.

Police were still trying to determine the sequence of events inside the shop. They wouldn't say what type of weapon was used or if the gunman used more than one.

"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.

He said the salon was busy at the time, with every hairdressing station in operation.

AP