Seal Beach shooting: Victim predicted ex-husband would kill her

Michelle Fournier made no secret about the fact that she feared her ex-husband. She told one friend she thought he might kill her.

So when her brother Butch Fournier turned on the television Wednesday and saw that the Salon Meritage awning was the site of a shooting rampage, he immediately felt sick: "I knew exactly who did it and exactly what happened."

Full coverage: Deadly shooting at Seal Beach beauty salon

Police say that Fournier's ex-husband Scott Dekraai walked into the busy salon at 1:21 p.m. Wednesday. Armed with a handgun, he opened fire, killing eight people and wounding one 73-year-old woman. Fournier, friends and family said, was the likely target as the two were locked in an ugly custody fight over their 8-year-old son.

Police released no new details about the shooting, but said that it was not a random act of violence. The gunman, they said, knew someone at the salon. More information, including the identities of the eight dead, will be released Friday by Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas.

Butch Fournier said that Wednesday's shooting may have been prompted by a recent custody  report, referenced at  a court hearing Tuesday. The report kept custody roughly equal between the couple despite Dekraai's efforts seeking additional time with his son.