A shooting at a Southern California office building on Wednesday has left four people dead, including a child, and a woman critically injured as cops wounded and arrested the suspect, authorities said.
Orange Police Department arrived at the office block to live gunfire at around 5.30pm at 202 W. Lincoln Avenue – a small two-story building that houses a number of small businesses.
At least one cop fired at the suspect who has been wounded and taken to hospital and a firearm was recovered from the scene, police said. A woman was also shot and injured in the massacre and both she and the gunman are in critical condition.
Signs outside indicated a handful of businesses were located there, including an insurance office, a financial consulting firm, a legal services business and a phone repair store.
Lt. Jennifer Amat, a spokeswoman for the Orange Police Department, said the shooting spree took place upstairs and downstairs inside the complex before moving to an outside courtyard.
Police have not released the motive for the attack or the office affected but unconfirmed reports on Twitter and a local Facebook group suggest it broke out at a family therapist office where a husband killed his wife and child along with two other victims.
Paul Tovar told KTLA-TV that his brother owns United Homes, a mobile home broker in the office complex. ‘He’s not answering his phone, neither’s my niece,’ Mr Tovar said. ‘I’m pretty scared and worried – right now I’m just praying really hard.’
Charlie Espinoza told The Orange County Register that he could not reach his fiance, who works for a medical billing company at the site.
It is the third mass shooting in the United States in two weeks after a shooting at Atlanta spas killed eight people, including six Asian women, and 10 people were killed at a Boulder, Colorado grocery store.
The attack is also the city’s deadliest shooting since the 1997 Caltrans attack which also left four people dead when a disgruntled employee gunned down his colleagues.
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Police officers stand outside a business building where a shooting occurred in Orange, California on Wednesday
Police surround someone at the scene in a video shared online by a witness who said it showed the gunman being detained by cops
Locals gathered near the crime scene after the attack on Wednesday which has left four people, including a child, dead
An object believed to have been involved with the shooting is pictured on the blood spattered ground alongside a tactical vest or some sort of bag with straps
The shooting took place at around 5.30pm at 202 W. Lincoln Avenue in Orange at a small, two-story office building that houses a number of small businesses
Investigators arrived at the scene on Wednesday evening after the shooting which took place in an office suite at the complex, police said
An armored police vehicle was on the scene as investigators tried to determine the motive and victims of the savage attack
Police officers stand outside a building where multiple people were killed in a shooting in Orange, California on Wednesday
Police officers stand outside a business building where a shooting occurred in Orange, California on Wednesday after four people, including a child, were killed
A police officer stands in a building were multiple people were killed in a shooting in Orange, California on Wednesday
Police officers are seen in a building were multiple people were killed in a shooting in Orange, California on Wednesday
A police officer stands outside a building were multiple people were killed in a shooting in Orange, California on Wednesday
Investigators survey the scene in an office building after a shooting in Orange, California on Wednesday night
A police officer keeps watch at an office building after the massacre on Wednesday evening at the office block in Orange
Investigators survey the scene in an office building after a shooting in Orange, California on Wednesday night
California Gov Gavin Newsom said the shooting was ‘horrifying and heartbreaking’ as he paid tribute to the victims’ families
City of Orange Police Department’s Lt. Jennifer Amat said a female victim and the suspected male shooter were in critical condition at an area hospital
‘Officers arrived as shots were being fired and located multiple victims at the scene including fatalities. An officer involved shooting occurred,’ said the police post, which was filed shortly after 7pm.
‘The situation has been stabilized and there is no threat to the public.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Orange Police Department for more information and additional comment, as well as clarification about the manner of the shooting and possible victims.
A SWAT vehicle and dozens of police cars responded to the shooting as well as fire engines from multiple area fire departments, the Orange County Register reported.
A video appears to show officers as they ‘captured the suspect alive,’ according to @skkboz who posted it to Twitter.
It has not been confirmed if the person in the video is the gunman.
The Twitter user said: ‘Officers seen removing two handguns from an individual who lie motionless on the ground. Officers could be seen leading two others away in handcuffs.’
A Facebook livestream, posted by a resident who lives near the office building, showed officers carrying a motionless person out and providing aid to someone else, the Orange County Register reported.
It also showed officers taking two handguns from someone who was lying on the ground and providing help to another person. Two other people were led away in handcuffs, the paper said.
KABC-TV reported that at least two bodies could be seen outside the building with one on a second floor walkway and one in a courtyard after the deadly attack, as well as bloody clothes and what appeared to be a weapon.
An Orange Police Department SWAT vehicle is seen with Orange City Fire Department firefighters on Wednesday after a deadly mass shooting
Police are seen investigating a deadly mass shooting in Orange, California on Wednesday that killed four people
Bloody clothes and what appeared to be wallet are seen after the deadly mass shooting a California office building on Wednesday
A police officer stands outside a building were multiple people were killed in a shooting in Orange, California on Wednesday
An aerial view shows the large police response after a deadly shooting in Orange, California on Wednesday
Fire trucks and an armored vehicle are seen at the two-story office building where a deadly shooting happened on Wednesday
City of Orange police cars block the road in the aftermath of America’s latest mass shooting after a bloody two weeks which has seen 22 people killed
People gathered by the police cordon after the attack which police said was the worst in Orange since the 1997 Caltrans shooting
Witnesses told the outlet that they heard two distinct sets of shots with the first being the initial rampage and the second being the shootout with cops.
‘I was just in my room hanging out. All of a sudden I heard five to seven gun shots go off,’ a neighbor told KABC-TV.
‘And then I waited a couple minutes and the police came. And I heard a few more gunshots go off. It was a lot, quickly. Then the helicopter showed up and it was silent after that.’
The neighbor added: ‘We thought it was a car backfiring at first. Then it became louder and quicker and we knew it was not. It was quick gunfire shots.’
Cody Lev, who lives across the street from the office building, told the Orange County Register that he was sitting on a couch with headphones on when he heard the gunfire begin.
Cops were seen in a video posted to Facebook running to the scene of the shooting in Orange, California on Wednesday
A video showed officers at the scene interacting with a person on the ground outside of the office building on Wednesday
A video showed officers at the scene interacting with a person on the ground outside of the office building on Wednesday
Officers and paramedics load a person on a gurney into an ambulance after the deadly attack in Orange, California
He said he saw police swarm the office building and paramedics carry a person away on a stretcher when he looked outside from his home.
Politicians started to react to the news of yet another mass shooting on Wednesday evening.
In a tweet, Gov. Gavin Newsom called the killings ‘horrifying and heartbreaking.’
‘Our hearts are with the families impacted by this terrible tragedy tonight,’ he wrote.
Congresswoman Katie Porter said on Twitter that she was ‘deeply saddened’ by reports of the mass shooting.
‘I’m continuing to keep victims and their loved ones in my thoughts as we continue to learn more,’ she tweeted.
‘Obviously this is something shocking for the city of Orange, for something of this magnitude to happen,’ Orange Councilwoman Arianna Barrios said, according to the Orange County Register.
‘Perhaps in this day and age, no community should be unprepared for something like this to happen.’
The Orange Police Department said that it was that city’s deadliest shooting since 1997
Politicians including State Assembly member Rob Bonta, a pick for California Attorney General, have started to respond to the shooting
State Assembly member Rob Bonta called gun violence ‘America’s disease.’
‘No one should have to fear for their lives at work, in school, or in prayer,’ Bonta wrote in tweet.
Bonta is Gov. Gavin Newsom’s nominee for California attorney general.
‘I am truly heartbroken for the victims’ families and everyone impacted by this shooting in Orange. We don’t have to live like this. We need #MoreThanThoughtsAndPrayers to stop these preventable tragedies. We must ensure that our communities are safe,’ wrote State Assembly member Sharon Quirk-Silva on Twitter.
The Orange Police Department said that it was that city’s deadliest shooting since 1997 when a 43-year-old former Caltrans worker who had been fired shot and killed four of his former coworkers before he was killed by police.
Arturo Reyes Torres, 41, an equipment operator who had been fired six weeks earlier, killed four people and wounded others, including a police officer, before police killed him.
The city of Orange is about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles and home to about 140,000 people.