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Craigslist Nightmare: Gunman Posed As Car Buyer Before Killing 3
The gunman who opened fire at a business and then a nearby home this week posed as a Craigslist buyer interested in a 2010 Camaro, according to the family of the victims.
Josimar Rojas, 26, Susana Perez-Ruelas, 34, and Irene Cardenas, 35, were all killed this week when a gunman opened fire at United States Fire Protection and then a nearby home in Downey this Wednesday. After the shooting, the suspect fled in a 2010 black Camaro. One suspect Jade Douglas Harris had been arrested in the shooting after police located the Camaro. A motive for the killing wasn't initially clear, although there has been a lot of speculation and even some misinformation about the bizarre case.
Family members of the victims are challenging some of the early explanations that came from law enforcement sources. Police initially said the victims were all members of a family that owns the business where the shooting took place. However, neither Rojas nor Cardenas were related to the business owners Robert and Antonio Salinas, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Rojas was a friend of the Salinas family who helped create a Craigslist ad for the Camaro. Cardenas was a secretary for the business.
On the record, police said it appeared that someone was targeting the family, even though they weren't sure what the motive was. Some unnamed law enforcement sources speculated that it may have been a "professional hit" or "drug-related." But a spokesman and an attorney say these theories don't add up.
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Attorney Arshak Bartoumian told City News Service, "The Salinas family is not involved in any illegal activities. This has been reported as one possible theory for these killings. This theory was placed in the public by various sources without any facts."
Bartoumian added that the family was "hard-working" and "tried to live the American dream by running a prosperous business. Unfortunately, they were involved in the senseless killings of three people."
Martha E. Zerehi, a spokesman for the family, told the Long Beach Press-Telegram what the family members of the victims know about the shooting. Zerehi said that a gunman offering to pay $25,000 for the Camaro showed up at the business on Wednesday. All of the victims of the shooting were at the business.
Cardenas and Rojas were fatally shot at the business. The gunman demanded that Perez-Ruelas and her 13-year-old son Antonio Salinas take him to the home where the Camaro was. The gunman drove a company car to the home just down the street, and reportedly told Salinas: "Do you know how easy it would be for me to kill you right now?" The gunman aimed his gun at Salinas, but Perez-Ruelas dove in front of her son and took a bullet in her head. The gunman fired again, hitting Salinas in the arm. Salinas played dead, and the gunman fled in the Camaro, Zerehi said.
Police have not confirmed this story. Zerehi admits the picture is incomplete and fuzzy, given that the only surviving witnesses are one woman shot at the business named Maria Theresa Salinas, who is in critical condition, and the 13-year-old Salinas, who is in shock after witnessing his mother's death.
Police rounded up four people who showed up to pick up a car that was left at the scene of the business—a car that police believe the gunman drove to the business before taking off in the Camaro. Police released the three others detained and arrested Harris.
Related:
Family Targeted In Downey Shooting That Left 3 Dead
Downey Shooting: Person Of Interest Detained, Victims ID'd
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