A 911 tape released Friday captures a sense of the confusion after a shooting at a Seal Beach salon, as a caller tells dispatchers that a man has walked off after carrying out what would end up being the deadliest mass killing in Orange County's history.
In an emergency cell phone call originally routed to the California Highway Patrol, an unidentified man told dispatchers that he was at a construction site across the street when the shooting began.
Before his call is transferred to police dispatchers, the man describes the shooter as a "large white man, maybe about 300 pounds." "We saw him walk away," the caller said. "We saw him in a truck down the street."
About two minutes after the call began, the man stopped replying to the dispatcher's question, but his open cell phone line continued to pick up a frenzy of voices in the background.
A voice is heard telling everyone who isn't involved in the incident to step back, while sirens can be heard in the background about three minutes after the call began. About three and a half minutes into the call, another unidentified man can be heard exclaiming "we have him; they've got him stopped."
Authorities previously indicated that officers arrived only minutes after the shooting began, finding eight people shot inside the shop and a ninth shot outside the salon. Eight of the nine victims died Wednesday, while a lone survivor remains in critical condition.
Police took Scott Evan Dekraai into custody less than a mile away based on witness descriptions. Dekraai has been charged with with counts of special circumstances murder, with authorities alleging that he targeted his ex-wife and seven others after a bitter custody battle.
Seal Beach police officials have not released the calls made to their dispatchers.
