California shooter knew his four victims

The shooting in Orange, California, that killed four people including a 9-year-old boy on Wednesday was carried out by a 44-year-old man who knew the victims, police said on Thursday (April 01), as they ruled out the shooting as a random act.

Flora Bradley-Watson has more.

The suspected gunman in Wednesday’s California shooting knew his four victims, and had a family relationship with at least one of them, officials said on Thursday.

Police have now ruled out the shooting as a random act.

Jennifer Amat of the Orange Police Department: "The preliminary motive is believed to be related to a business and personal relationship which existed between the suspect and all of the victims." The attack happened at a real estate building in suburban Los Angeles.

One of the four victims was a 9-year-old boy who authorities said died in the arms of his wounded mother.

The mother is now in a critical but stable condition in hospital.

The suspect, identified as 44-year-old Aminadab Gonzalez, is also in a critical condition.

He engaged in gunfire with the police before being arrested.

Wednesday's attack was the third mass shooting in the United States within a month.

Eight people, six of them Asian women, were shot dead at three Atlanta-area spas on March 16.

Less than a week later, a man opened fire at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, killing ten people.

The California suspect’s connection with his victims appear to set it apart from the other shootings.