The unfortunate truth is that we never know when or where violence will come to visit. Additionally, as each of us goes out and about during our seemingly ordinary lives, we take with us pieces of our private life that are ugly; that’s why we keep them private. On October 12, 2011, in the Salon Meritage in Seal Beach, California, a piece of one woman’s private past visited the location and killed eight people.
On that afternoon, police received a call for shots fired at Salon Meritage. The assailant, Scott Evans Dekraai, was on the premises reportedly armed with three handguns shooting people; most of whom he probably didn’t know. Dekraai’s ex-wife worked at the salon and had been divorced from Dekraai four years prior. Their marriage had lasted four years and they had a son over whom they were going through a custody battle. It may seem ironic, but just the day before the shooting, a court hearing had resulted in a recommendation for a “near-equal custody” agreement. The questions this begs are: 1) was Dekraai unhappy with the court’s recommendation because he wanted MORE than a “near equal” agreement? Or 2) was there something else going on that Dekraai felt could only be resolved outside the court where his son was concerned? Or 3) did this have nothing to do with the custody battle at all?
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The remainder of this article is part of the book "Active Killers and the Crimes They Perpetrated," available in print or ebook via Amazon.
Joshua Borelli
Joshua Borelli has been studying active shooter and mass attack events over the course of the past several years, commensurate with receiving training on response and recovery to natural disasters and civil disturbances. Joshua started to outline this series of articles in an attempt to identify commonalities and logistical needs patterns for response.
