Salinas Domestic Violence Incident Ends With 2 Dead, 2 Hospitalized
Family Members Among Those Killed
SALINAS — A women who fled her estranged husband and thought she left him in Southern California is among those in the hospital in critical condition after he found her at the Social Security Administration Building parking lot. The husband, a 50-year-old Pakistani man from Garden Grove, later identified as Samuel Ejaz, was arrested at the scene and taken to the police station for questioning.
On Thursday, August 27, at around 8:46 in the morning, police received a call about shots heard in the area of Blanco Circle in Salinas. When the police arrived within minutes of the call, they found two victims on the ground, and two others suffering from gunshot wounds, in the Social Security office parking lot.
Police theorized that the man’s wife, a 32-year-old woman, went to the Social Security office with her family because they had to take care of some business. It seems that Ejaz followed her to Salinas where she was with her family.
Police stated that as the family pulled into the parking lot, he drove in right behind them. He and his wife got into a conversation, and then he opened fire on them. Her aunt, 51-year-old Felicidad Legaspi, and uncle, 64-year-old Oliver Legaspi, residents of Salinas, were critically wounded and found dead at the scene. His estranged wife and her 28-year-old cousin, Alfaro Legaspi, the son of the two other victims, were both taken to a local hospital. Both are expected to survive.
Police do not know yet if the murders were pre-meditated because they have not concluded their investigation. Police credit witnesses that responded to the incident with the quick apprehension of the suspect, who was still at the scene.
Police stated that the shooting took place at short range, within 10 feet of each victim, and the weapon used was a 9mm caliber handgun. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) responded to the scene as they heard the call on the radio, and because it was the Social Security Building knew they might have had jurisdiction.
Samuel Ejaz was taken to the Salinas Police station for questioning, and transported to Monterey County Jail where he was booked for murder, attempted murder, and domestic violence, inflicting corporal injury on a spouse. His wife’s name was not released by police pending their investigation and family notifications. She and her family were reported to be of Filipino descent.
