2021 Orange, California office shooting

On the evening of March 31, 2021, the Orange Police Department received a 911 call around 5:30 p.m. PDT reporting shots fired at a two-story office complex at 202 W. Lincoln Avenue in Orange, California. Officers arrived within about two minutes to find the shooter still firing inside the building. Responding officers initially could not enter the building's courtyard because the gates had been locked from the inside with a bicycle-type cable lock. The shooting took place across both floors of the building, which housed several businesses, including a real estate office.

Witnesses in the area reported hearing multiple volleys of gunfire — three shots, then three more, then four — followed by a voice warning "Don't move or I will shoot you." A worker at a neighboring auto mechanic shop said he heard about ten shots before officers evacuated the shop.

When police entered, they were met with gunfire from the suspect. Officers shot the suspect, who was taken to the hospital in critical condition; it was later confirmed he had been shot in the head by police. Investigators recovered a semi-automatic handgun and a backpack containing pepper spray, handcuffs, and additional ammunition. The initial law enforcement response included 20 Orange Police Department officers, 30 investigators, and agents from the FBI and ATF.

Four people were killed in the attack. A child was found dead in the arms of a critically wounded woman in the complex's courtyard; the two were believed to be mother and son. Three other adult victims were found dead inside the office complex, including two who were identified as father and daughter. The wounded woman was shot in the head and sustained injuries described as serious and permanent.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said the incident was being investigated both as a mass shooting and as an officer-involved shooting, with authorities examining whether the locked gates could support a "lying in wait" special-circumstance allegation.

On April 1, 2021, authorities identified the suspect as 43-year-old Aminadab Gaxiola González, a resident of Fullerton, California, born December 6, 1977. Officials said González knew the victims and that the shooting may have been motivated by a business dispute. At the time of the shooting, he was reportedly living in a motel in Anaheim and had used a rental car to travel to the office building.

González was charged with four counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder shortly after the shooting. In December 2021, a court ruled him incompetent to stand trial due to head injuries sustained during the police shootout, and proceedings were suspended indefinitely pending his medical treatment.

Following the shooting, public officials including U.S. Representative Katie Porter and California Governor Gavin Newsom issued statements offering condolences to victims' families and said they were monitoring the situation.