4 dead in California mass shooting

On Wednesday, March 31, a child alongside three others was killed in a mass shooting at a Southern California office building that left a fifth victim and the gunman critically injured.

Officers arrived at 202 W. Lincoln Ave. around 5:30 p.m. local time as shots were being fired and located “multiple victims at the scene including fatalities,” according to the Orange Police Department.

An officer was involved in the shooting, but “the situation has been stabilized and there is no threat to the public,” police said in a statement Wednesday night.

The suspect, along with a female victim, were transported to the hospital in critical condition, according to Lt. Jen Amat of the Orange Police Department.

Police said they are still determining the relationship between the shooter and the victims.

“I’m deeply saddened by reports of a mass shooting in Orange County, and I’m continuing to keep victims and their loved ones in my thoughts as we continue to learn more. My team and I will continue to monitor the situation closely,” Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., tweeted Wednesday night.

In a tweet, California Governor Gavin Newsom called the killings “horrifying and heartbreaking”.

“Our hearts are with the families impacted by this terrible tragedy tonight,” he wrote.

The killings follow a mass shooting at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, last week that left 10 dead.

A week before that six Asian women were among eight people killed in three Atlanta-area spas.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with a decline in mass shootings, which dropped to the lowest levels in nearly a decade, a recent series of such attacks has left many Americans reeling and seeking answers from lawmakers.

Robert Aaron Long, 21, faces murder charges in attacks on three spas in the Atlanta area March 16. Six of the victims were women of Asian descent, spurring concerns that the gunman was motivated by anti-Asian hatred. The women’s deaths came amid spikes in anti-Asian hate crimes and other incidents of harassment, which have been rising in the last year.

In the Boulder shooting, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, was taken into custody and faces 10 counts of murder. The victims included a 51-year-old police officer, who was one of the first to respond to the scene. The nine other victims ranged in age from 20 to 65.