A gunman went on the rampage in a Southern California hair salon, killing eight people and injuring one critically before being arrested, dpa reported.
The shooting occurred Wednesday in the normally quiet coastal town of Seal Beach in Orange County, about 40 kilometres south of Los Angeles, Sergeant Steve Bowles of the Seal Beach Police Department said.
Six of the dead died at the scene and two more died on the way to hospital, he said.
Police did not immediately identify the attacker or the fatalities or ascribe a motive for the attack, but witnesses familiar with employees at the Meritage Salon said the suspect was involved in a domestic dispute with one of the employees. According to the Long Beach Telegram newspaper, the attacker was involved in a child custody dispute with his ex-wife, who worked at the salon.
Bowles said police identified the suspect's car as it was leaving the scene, followed it and arrested him minutes later without incident.
Pictures of the arrest showed a burly, middle-aged man in handcuffs.
"It just caught everyone off guard, and people started running outside to see what was happening," Zach Benson, who was working at a nearby restaurant, told the broadcaster NBC Los Angeles. "It was a very bizarre scene."
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