Authorities identified the four victims who died in a mass shooting at an office complex in Southern California this week.
Matthew Farias, 9, was the youngest killed in the United Homes shooting in Orange on Wednesday night. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said the child “died in his mother’s arms while she was trying to save him during this horrific massacre”. He is considered the son of one of the victims of the shooting, police said.
Jenevieve Raygoza, 28; Letícia Solis Guzman, 58; and Luis Tovar, 50, were also killed in what the authorities are calling a targeted attack. Tovar owned United Homes, which specializes in selling mobile and prefabricated homes, according to Los Angeles ABC KABC.
A female victim who was transported to the hospital in critical condition was also not identified. She remains in critical but stable condition, police said on Friday.
The shooting suspect, Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez, 44, was charged on Friday with four counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder, among other charges. He is eligible for the death penalty, said the Orange County district attorney’s office.
The suspect was shot in the head and hand during the incident and remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition, officials said.
Gonzalez, from Fullerton, Calif., Was scheduled to be processed in his hospital bed on Friday afternoon, although this continued until Monday, depending on his medical condition.
“I fear that we will have to continue doing this on a daily basis for some time,” said his lawyer, Kenneth Morrison, during the hearing, noting that he would need to make a determination if Gonzalez is “aware and alert”.
“He is not in a position to make a conscious and voluntary decision about anything related to his case because of his medical condition,” Morrison told ABC News after Friday’s hearing.
The court ordered Gonzalez to be in the custody of the sheriff’s department. No bail was set.
The shooting was concentrated in the Unified Homes office, police said. Authorities said the attack appeared to be an isolated incident and that the suspect knew and had business or personal relationships with all the victims.
Shots were fired at around 5:30 pm local time when the suspect entered the courtyard of the office building and started “shooting in the windows,” a police source told ABC News.
The suspect locked the gates of the company’s courtyard with a bicycle cable lock, initially preventing police entry, officials said. According to the police, the sniper opened fire on two police officers from the Orange Police Department, causing them to respond. Police are investigating whether the suspect sustained a self-inflicted injury or was shot by the police. The officers left unscathed.
The officers used pliers to open the locks and enter the courtyard. They located several victims and the suspect, who was taken into custody and hospitalized, officials said.
Investigators also recovered a semi-automatic weapon at the scene and a backpack with pepper spray, handcuffs and ammunition, which they believe belonged to the suspect, police said.
Morrison cautioned against further details of the case being released at this time.
“Horrible tragedies like this represent the biggest test of our justice system, and if the constitution of due process, with protections and fair trial rights granted to all of us, will be strictly respected,” he told ABC News. “The details of the investigation must be kept so that this matter is not tried in the media, but in a court of law. We all need to proceed with caution.”
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is also investigating the shooting involving the police officer. Any relevant footage from the camera used on the body will be released as soon as the investigation is completed, the office said.
“Taking the life of another human being is the most serious of crimes and the killing of several people while they were essentially locked in a shooting gallery is terrifying,” said Spitzer in a statement. “Orange County residents can rest assured that the Public Prosecutor’s Office is taking all possible measures to ensure that all aspects of this case and the subsequent shooting involving the police officer are thoroughly examined and that justice is done for each victim. “
ABC News’s Marlene Lenthang and William Mansell contributed to this report.