The shootings at the Salon Meritage in Seal Beach, CA on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 at about 1:21 p.m. PDT which killed 8 people, also shattered the lives of many others and impacted the sense of security enjoyed by many of the 24,000 residents of the Orange County, California community, according to reports published on Friday, October 14, 2011 by the Los Angles Times, ABC News, The Orange County Register, BBC News, and other media sources.
The outpouring of sympathy and respect for the victims was expressed in a makeshift memorial of flowers and handwritten messages left outside the hair salon at 500 Pacific Coast Highway, in candle light vigils, and in tears of grief, as seen in the attached slide show and video clip which accompany this report.
While violence arising from custody battles in the United States has been a constant presence, the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Domestic Violence has long recognized the potential for escalation in such disputes.
That was exactly what happened in Seal Beach, when 41-year-old Scott Evans Dekraai entered Salon Meritage where his former wife, 48-year-old Michelle Marie Fournier worked as one of the hair stylists, and allegedly began an indiscriminate shooting rampage.
Wearing personal body armor, and carrying three hand guns, a 9-millimeter Springfield Armory XD, a Heckler & Koch HK45, and a Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum, the bullets allegedly fired by Mr. Dekraai killed seven persons who were either employed at the salon or were customers there, including his wife, five other women, and the owner of the business, 62-year-old Randy Lee Fannin.
Also killed was David Caouette, age 64, who died after being shot in his Land Rover Discovery which was parked outside the hair styling studio.
Another woman, 73-year-old Hattie Stretz, was shot and seriously injured. She is listed in fair condition at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. Her daughter, Laura Webb, had been styling her mother's hair, when both women were shot, and was among the victims killed.
Six of those shot died instantly, while two others perished from their wounds later that day while being treated at a hospital.
Mr. Dekraai was arrested shortly after the shootings, while he was driving away from the scene in his white Toyota Tundra pickup truck. He appeared in court on Friday, October 14, and was charged by Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas with eight counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
The 6'-1", 285 pound suspect, booking number 2662411, whose occupation is listed as a boat captain, is currently being held in the Intake Release Center (IRC) at the Central Jail Complex in Santa Ana, CA.
He is scheduled to return to Orange County Central Superior Court for arraignment on November 29, 2011. The District Attorney announced at a news conference on Friday, that he will be seeking the death penalty in this case, making it unlikely that Mr. Dekraai will be eligible for bail.
According to Mr. Rackauckas, "Dekraai is accused of walking into the Salon Meritage in Seal Beach prepared to commit murder. Wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with three firearms, he walked through the salon shooting anyone close enough to hit."
The District Attorney said Dekraai had allegedly stopped to reload his weapon before continuing to gun people down, adding "He was not satisfied with murdering his intended target, his ex-wife. For almost two minutes, Dekraai shot victim after victim, executing people by shooting them in the head and chest."
Superior Court Judge Erick Larsh ordered a medical review of Dekraai, at the request of his attorney Robert Curtis.
Curtis asked the judge to order jail officials to give Mr. Dekraai his prescribed anti-psychotic medicine, and to give him access to a spinal cord stimulator he has needed since a 2007 boating accident that left him disabled, and which is used to help him walk.
The day before the shooting, a court hearing had taken place on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 which recommended a near-equal custody arrangement for the couple's 8-year-old son.
While Mr. Dekraai had sought full custody of his son, his ex-wife's attorney said a court-ordered review had recommended against that. Attorney John Cate Jr., called Tuesday's hearing "benign", merely a scheduling meeting, adding "Obviously, I saw no indication that this would lead to violence."
The mass murders have been classified as the deadliest shooting in Orange County history. At least 20 persons were in the salon when the gunfire began. Many of them were able to escape outside, or sought shelter in neighboring businesses.
According to The Orange County Register, the 24,000 residents of the Southern California community had previously experienced a total of only 4 homicides in the past 10 years.
Prior to Wednesday's shootings, the County's worst massacre was on Monday, July 12, 1976, when 37-year-old Edward Charles Allaway shot nine people at California State University, Fullerton, leaving 7 dead.
Still, numbers cannot describe the impact this tragedy has had on the peaceful community situated in the westernmost corner of Orange County, adjoining Los Angeles County.
Statistics alone can never measure grief. According to JoAnn Adams, the owner of nearby Bogart's Coffeehouse, "I feel like right now I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Maybe they were some of my customers. It's just very surreal today. It almost feels like the day after 9/11, the same feeling, like we're just walking through the motions."
There will still be the annual fish fry, the car show, the pancake breakfast, and the kite festival. But like the tragedy of September 11, 2001, on a smaller scale, innocence has been lost in Seal Beach, and life may never be the same again.
Tell us your thoughts. Please leave comments below or by email and subscribe to get future updates. There is also expanded coverage of other recent news articles. You may also be interested in following our reports as the Airlines/Airport Examiner.
Comments