'Nicest guy' arrested after 8 are shot dead
Source: Agencies |
October 14, 2011, Friday
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EIGHT people were killed and another critically injured when a gunman burst into a hairdressing salon and began shooting in a seaside resort in California, the United States.
Every hair-dressing station was full at Salon Meritage in Seal Beach when the gunman came in and opened fire on Wednesday.
Terrified customers dived for cover as the shooter stepped back outside, shot a man sitting in a truck in a car park and made his escape.
This small town is so tranquil a police spokesman there could not recall the last homicide.
Kimberly Criswell, who owns a salon two doors away and knew many hairstylists at Salon Meritage, said: "There was like a 'pop pop' and my receptionist screamed out, 'He just shot that man,' and we all went into the bathroom and called 911. I am sure I have lost some friends today."
Police arrested 42-year-old Scott Dekraai about half a kilometer from the scene but did not give a motive or any other details. A police spokesman said the man was cooperative when officers, working from a description of the gunman, stopped him near the salon.
One witness, Glenn Zachman, said police placed plastic bags over the man's hands to preserve possible gunshot evidence.
A man and five women died at the salon, a man and a woman died after being taken to hospital, and a woman remains in a critical condition. They have not been named.
Some friends of the salon owner and several other employees said Dekraai was the ex-husband of a stylist who worked there. A licensed cosmetologist at the salon was listed as 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 more than 10 years and was aware she and her ex-husband were involved in a custody dispute over their son, who is seven or eight years old.
In Huntington Beach, people were shocked to learn that one of the friendliest men in the neighborhood had been arrested for the shootings.
Next-door neighbor Stephanie Malchow, 29, last saw Dekraai on Tuesday morning as she left for work. She was shocked when she saw the photo of the stocky man with thinning hair being detained by Seal Beach police.
"He is the nicest guy ever," she said.
Other neighbors described him as an outgoing man who invited them over for pool parties at the house he had lived in for about six years. They said he doted on his son, playing catch with the boy in his yard.
They said they knew about the custody battle. "It was a very difficult battle and he was trying to get more time" with his son, said Jo Cornhall.
Every hair-dressing station was full at Salon Meritage in Seal Beach when the gunman came in and opened fire on Wednesday.
Terrified customers dived for cover as the shooter stepped back outside, shot a man sitting in a truck in a car park and made his escape.
This small town is so tranquil a police spokesman there could not recall the last homicide.
Kimberly Criswell, who owns a salon two doors away and knew many hairstylists at Salon Meritage, said: "There was like a 'pop pop' and my receptionist screamed out, 'He just shot that man,' and we all went into the bathroom and called 911. I am sure I have lost some friends today."
Police arrested 42-year-old Scott Dekraai about half a kilometer from the scene but did not give a motive or any other details. A police spokesman said the man was cooperative when officers, working from a description of the gunman, stopped him near the salon.
One witness, Glenn Zachman, said police placed plastic bags over the man's hands to preserve possible gunshot evidence.
A man and five women died at the salon, a man and a woman died after being taken to hospital, and a woman remains in a critical condition. They have not been named.
Some friends of the salon owner and several other employees said Dekraai was the ex-husband of a stylist who worked there. A licensed cosmetologist at the salon was listed as 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 more than 10 years and was aware she and her ex-husband were involved in a custody dispute over their son, who is seven or eight years old.
In Huntington Beach, people were shocked to learn that one of the friendliest men in the neighborhood had been arrested for the shootings.
Next-door neighbor Stephanie Malchow, 29, last saw Dekraai on Tuesday morning as she left for work. She was shocked when she saw the photo of the stocky man with thinning hair being detained by Seal Beach police.
"He is the nicest guy ever," she said.
Other neighbors described him as an outgoing man who invited them over for pool parties at the house he had lived in for about six years. They said he doted on his son, playing catch with the boy in his yard.
They said they knew about the custody battle. "It was a very difficult battle and he was trying to get more time" with his son, said Jo Cornhall.
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