April 1 (UPI) -- Four people, including a child, were killed and a female victim seriously injured in a shooting at a Southern California business complex, authorities said.
The suspected gunman was also shot and taken to a local hospital in critical condition, Lt. Jennifer Amat of the Orange Police Department told reporters during a news conference Wednesday.
Police shot and arrested the suspect, 44-year-old Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez, when they arrived at the complex in Orange, Calif. They said Gonzalez, who knew the victims, locked the gates to the complex before opening fire inside a business called Unified Homes.
Officers fired on the suspect through the gates and subdued him before using bolt cutters to break the bike locks and access the scene.
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Amat said police recovered a firearm, pepper spray and handcuffs from Gonzalez.
Police said officers found a 9-year-old boy deceased in the courtyard outside the business along with an adult woman who was injured. They believe the boy was the son of one of the victims, but didn't release any of their names pending notification of next of kin.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer on Thursday told the Los Angeles Times it looked as if the boy died in the arms of the injured woman, who "was trying to save him." He described the scene as a "horrific massacre."
The three other deceased victims -- two women and a man -- were found inside the business.
"It's just such a tragedy for the victims their families, our community and our police department," Amat said during an earlier news conference on Wednesday evening.
Police said they received a call of an active shooting at 202 West Lincoln Ave. in the city of Orange, about 30 miles south of Los Angeles, at 5:30 p.m.
Rep. Katie Porter of California's 45th congressional district, which encompasses areas of Orange, tweeted she was "deeply saddened" by the shooting and will continue to monitor the situation.
"Horrifying and heartbreaking," California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a tweet. "Our hearts are with the families impacted by this terrible tragedy tonight."
Amat said it was the worst shooting in Orange since four people were killed and two others wounded when a former state employee opened fire at a Caltrans facility in 1997.
The violence on Wednesday follows two other mass shootings in the United States in less than a month.
On March 16, a man opened fire at three massage parlors in Atlanta, killing eight people and injuring two others.
Less than a week later, a second gunman opened fire at a Boulder, Colo., grocery store on March 22, killing 10, including Eric Talley, an 11-year veteran of the Boulder Police Department.
Rob Bonta, a California state assemblyman whom Newsom has nominated to be the state's next attorney general, said after the shooting that gun violence "is America's disease."
"Tonight, our hearts ache for these victims and all those impacted by this terrible tragedy," he said on Twitter. "No one should have to fear for their lives at work, in school or in prayer."
