Seal Beach Salon Massacre 911 Calls Released
Police have released the audio of several 911 calls that were placed during the Seal Beach salon shooting on Wednesday, October 12. Scott Dekraai, the ex-husband of salon stylist Michelle Fournier, opened fire at Salon Meritage on Wednesday afternoon, shaking the normally placid community and killing eight people.
In a call that was made moments after Dekraai opened fire, the caller said, "He's still shooting right now…he's still shooting right now. We need somebody here right now," reports NBC LA. The dispatcher worked to calm the caller.
"You guys need to shut the doors and hide somewhere," the dispatcher said. "Do you know who the shooter is?"
"We think it's one of the hairstylists' husbands," the caller said. "We think we do but I don't know because the girl that came here is just hysterical."
A second caller escaped into a nearby business to hide after witnessing the shooting. The dispatcher asked to speak the woman. "Do you know who the suspect is?" the dispatcher asked.
"He's just trying to shoot everybody in there right now," the caller said.
A woman hiding in the facial room of the salon also called police. Whispering, she told the 911 dispatcher, “I think a lot of people might have been killed or hurt.”
The receptionist from an adjacent salon witnessed the shooting through the front window of her salon, as reported by a caller from that salon. "We don't want to leave the bathroom until the police tell us okay," the caller said.
Sobbing, another woman dialed 911 while hiding behind a car in the parking lot. “A gunman came in and killed a bunch of people. They’re all lying down on the floor.”
"Did you see which way he went?" asked the dispatcher.
"No, I got down and put my hands over my neck like an air raid drill and was just hoping he wasn't going to kill me," the caller said.
One victim - Harriet Stretz - survived and has been released from the hospital. Stretz, 73, is the mother of the late Laura Webb who died in the massacre.
Dekraai, 41, was arrested shortly after the shooting and remains at an Orange County jail without bail. Orange County District Attorney DA Tony Rackauckas will seek the death penalty against Dekraai. "We believe the defendant committed this unimaginable act of violence because he wanted to kill his ex-wife over a custody dispute concerning their 8-year-old son," said Rackauckas on Friday. "I will seek the penalty of death against Scott Evans Dekraai."
A memorial for Dave Caouette, 64, who was killed in the shooting while getting into his Land Rover in the parking lot, took place on Monday night. About 100 people attended the memorial at Patty's Place, a small restaurant near Salon Meritage where Caouette had eaten lunch that day.
