The Mind of a Mass Murderer

It was probably premeditated. And probably an act of revenge.

The man who walked into a Seal Beach salon and shot nine people Wednesday, killing eight in Orange County’s deadliest mass murder, probably feels no remorse today, according to the psychological profile of a typical mass murderer.

More likely, he sees himself as someone who righted an injustice, said James Alan Fox, professor of criminology at Northeastern University and author of “Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murders.”

According to police, Huntington Beach resident Scott Dekraai walked into a crowded salon Wednesday afternoon, heavily armed and ready to kill. Police say he shot nine people, including his ex-wife, an employee at the salon with whom he battled in court over custody of their 8-year-old son.

The suspect knew exactly what he was doing, Fox said.

“He didn’t just snap. People don’t snap,” Fox said. “Having donned a bulletproof vest and loaded his pockets up with extra magazines, [the man] clearly had a calculated plan to kill many people, Fox said.

“These tend to be well-planned executions. They make a calm and calculated decision to kill, and they are themselves. They know what they are doing full well,” Fox said.

“It’s really an act of vengeance,” added Fox. “The target is one person, but the other people were executed because they were friends and co-workers. It’s a way to exact additional vengeance. It’s called murder by proxy.”

The man suspected in the Seal Beach massacre has much in common with history’s mass murders.

“Mass murderers are not classic lunatics,” Fox said. They don’t stand out in a crowd.”

About 95 percent of mass murderers are men. They tend to be middle-aged, have a job, and are well respected in the community, Fox said. However, they tend to see themselves as victims, and they project blame for their problems on other people.

Before Wednesday, DeKraai was well-liked in his community. He was once popular in the sport fishing industry where he worked, and neighbors appreciated him for thoughtful gestures, such as sharing garden cuttings and warning people about prowlers and the danger of leaving their garage doors open.

However, DeKraai’s life began to crumble after a boating accident in which a close friend and co-worker was severed in half as he tried, helplessly, to save her. He was severely injured in the accident as well, nearly losing his legs. He could no longer work and ended up on lifelong disability; he suffered intense pain in his legs, say friends and family. His split from his wife Michelle Fournier was a bitter and drawn-out custody battle over the little boy they had together.

“[The suspect] may have perceived himself as the victim as to her taking something he valued, and he wasn’t going to take it, and she was going to be punished. It’s a case of, ‘If I can’t have the child, you aren’t going to get him,' ” said Fox. “In his mind, what was most important was getting even at all costs.”

Despite common misconceptions, it’s not likely that friends and family could have predicted this, Fox said. Most mass murderers aren’t psychotic. They are like many people in a state of misery, but they blame others and they reach a very high level of anger.

The tragedy jarred the community, and as people grapple for answers, the death of so many may never make sense. Many people are still trying to find out if friends are alive or dead. Many of the victims have children in local schools including McGaugh Elementary, Oak Middle School and Los Alamitos High School.

Late Wednesday night, a makeshift candlelight memorial grew on the grass outside the salon. It included one hand-written note: “To my neighbor’s family: I don’t know you, but I want you to know I can not make sense of something that makes no sense at all. I am so sorry … oh God, I hope I don’t know you.”