Man Kills Ex-Wife, Self in Santa Ana Shooting

In a scene of “pandemonium” outside a busy Goodwill office Friday afternoon, a man pulled out a handgun and shot his ex-wife to death, then killed himself, police said.

Bertil Bautista Garcia, 46, and Araceli Diaz Bucio, 33, both of Santa Ana, were pronounced dead at the scene. The couple were walking in front of the Goodwill Industries corporate headquarters at 410 N. Fairview St. in Santa Ana just before 3 p.m. when they began arguing about their recent divorce, Santa Ana Police Sgt. Mario Corona said. About a dozen passersby either fled or fell to the ground when the shooting began, he said. “It was pandemonium. People were very scared.”

The man shot the woman several times, Corona said.

Police are interviewing more than 10 witnesses, including the couple’s 11-year-old daughter, who was with them but was not injured, police said. Relatives later took her to their home.

Employees were dismissed early from the three Goodwill stores that, with the office, make up a complex on Fairview, said Denise Higuchi, communications manager for Goodwill.

One is a computer store, one is a thrift store and one is an as-is store where clothes are sold by the pound, she said. The shootings were in a parking lot between two of the stores that face Fairview.

“We don’t know if they were shopping or walking by,” Higuchi said of the couple. “There were people who heard and saw what happened. Several called 911.”

Dan Rogers, president and chief executive for Goodwill Industries of Orange County, said 225 people work in the complex.

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Times staff writer Mai Tran contributed to this report.