SIMI VALLEY — Authorities have arrested a 30-year-old man suspected in a shooting rampage sparked by marital problems that left his young wife dead and wounded three of her colleagues inside a dental office.
Jaime Paredes of Simi Valley is accused of killing Mariela Paredes, 24, who was seeking a divorce. He is also accused of three counts of attempted murder and remains behind bars on $3 million bail at Ventura County Main Jail.
Police said the couple had been separated for several months and had a 7-year-old daughter. The girl is now staying with relatives.
On Wednesday, the Simi Valley man was allegedly armed with an SKS semi-automatic assault weapon when he stormed into Family Dental Care at 495 E. Los Angeles Avenue at 10:38 a.m.
Simi Valley police said he went to the front of the office where his wife worked as a receptionist and shot her dead. Paredes allegedly turned the gun on three others standing nearby, leaving them with critical wounds, said Sgt. Bill Lappin of the Simi Valley Police Department.
Family Dental Care remained closed Thursday.
"We feel sad for the people who were burdened with this nightmare," said Wayne Press, a physician at Chiropractic Orthopedics, a business adjoined to the dental office. "We're praying for them that they all get through it."
Press was not in the office when the gunfire broke out. His chiropractic facility was closed Thursday, a normal schedule for the office.
Lappin said wounded employees at the dental office were Christian Carpio, 18, a relative of the dead woman; Lydia Carranza, 41; and Gloria Castrellon, 38.
Lappin said earlier accounts of the shooting given by police had incorrectly said five were shot.
The blast of bullets Wednesday morning sent 15 people in the dental facility sprinting for safety. Many escaped through windows inside the adjoining chiropractic business.
After the gunfire, Paredes remained inside the dental facility with his dead wife's body for nearly an hour until Simi Valley police crisis negotiators convinced him to surrender. He stepped outside and gave up.
Paredes is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Ventura County Superior Court.
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