Judge Suspends Criminal Proceedings Against Orange Mass Shooting Suspect Thursday
ORANGE (CBSLA) – A Fullerton man charged in a mass shooting at an office building in the city of Orange back in March that claimed the lives of four people, including a 9-year-old boy, made his first court appearance Thursday.
Appearing in Orange County Superior Court in Anaheim, the judge in the case suspended criminal proceedings against 44-year-old suspect Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez who had previously been medically cleared to appear in court after his attorney argued that Gonzalez is mentally unfit to help in his own defense.
Gonzalez is charged with four counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and one count of attempted murder.
On the evening of March 31, Gonzalez is accused of entering an office complex in the 200 block of Lincoln Avenue and opening fire at a family-run real estate business on the second floor of the building with a semi-automatic handgun.
Police said Gonzalez locked the gates of the complex using bicycle-type cable locks prior to committing the shooting.
Authorities confirmed that all the victims knew Gonzalez through business or personal relationships. Gonzalez' estranged wife told CBSLA that she had worked for the real estate business, but had quit two years prior to the shooting.
The victims were 50-year-old Luis Tovar, 28-year-old Jenevieve Raygoza, 9-year-old Matthew Farias and 58-year-old Leticia Solis. Farias' mother, Blanca Tomayo, was critically wounded in the rampage.
Gonzalez sustained a bullet wound to the head in the courtyard of the complex during the rampage and had to have a portion of his brain removed. He has remained hospitalized ever since.