8 dead, 1 wounded in Calif. salon shooting

SEAL BEACH, Calif. -- Eight people were killed and another critically wounded yesterday when a gunman opened fire in a busy hair salon, leaving a normally sedate Southern California beach community stunned.

The gunman got into a car and drove away from Salon Meritage. He was stopped by officers about a half-mile away and surrendered without incident, said police Sgt. Steve Bowles. His name was not immediately released.

Police were struggling to determine a motive. "There may be something to the motive as to a relationship with somebody in the salon, that is our assumption," Bowles said.

The Los Angeles Times reported that eyewitnesses said the suspect was targeting his ex-wife and that the two were involved in a custody dispute.

Police responding to a report of shots fired found six people dead and three wounded. Two of those three died at a hospital. The other person was listed in critical condition.

"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 said. He said he didn't know what type of weapon was used.

Salon employee Lorainne Bruielle, who wasn't working yesterday, told the Long Beach Press-Telegram that she had talked to the husband of one of the employees present when the shooting occurred, who said one employee locked herself in the salon's facial room and was unharmed while another man locked himself in a bathroom but was wounded.

The suspect was cooperative when officers stopped him nearby, Bowles said. He told them he had several weapons in his car, Bowles said.