Simi Area Reels as Manhunt Intensifies

The manhunt intensified Thursday for a Caltrans engineer suspected of killing three members of his ex-girlfriend’s family and wounding two others during a Simi Valley shooting spree.

As police pressed the search for Reynaldo Herrera Rodriguez, they also kept close watch over the surviving members of the family of Ana and Rafael Calderon under the belief that their lives might still be in danger.

Authorities said it was a relationship between Rodriguez, 35, of Thousand Oaks and the eldest of the Calderons’ five children, Maria Calderon, 24, that apparently touched off the rampage Wednesday afternoon in the upscale Simi Valley neighborhood.

Killed in the shooting were Esperanza Martinez, 80, grandson Ricardo Calderon, 12, and great-granddaughter Shantal Rios, 4, Maria Calderon’s daughter. Injured were Lucia Vargas, 19, Rigoberto Calderon, 16, and Rafael Calderon Jr., 18, all siblings of Ricardo Calderon.

Neither Maria Calderon nor her parents were home at the time of the shooting.

As neighbors and news media gathered in front of the house Thursday morning, a weary Rafael Calderon Sr., returned home to collect personal items. He was accompanied by Rigoberto, on crutches because of a bullet wound to his leg, and Rafael Jr., wearing a cast around an ankle and bandages around a wrist he injured jumping from a second-story window to escape the assault.

“We just want to thank every one of our family and friends for all of the support they have given us,” the elder Calderon said.

Rodriguez is suspected of moving methodically from room-to-room picking off victims in a desperate search for Maria Calderon before speeding away in a rented blue 2002 Ford Explorer. He hasn’t been seen since.

At Simi Valley schools Thursday, classmates of the Calderon children paid tribute to their friends.

Students and teachers at Royal High School held a moment of silence for Rigoberto Calderon’s family during morning announcements.

At Valley View Middle School, attended by Ricardo Calderon, students passing between classes and during lunch gathered at an amphitheater in the school’s quad. They stood and consoled each other, helped lay flowers and tacked up notes and a banner that said, “In Loving Memory of Ricardo.”

And at White Oak Elementary School, where Shantal Rios began kindergarten last week, two psychologists were on hand to counsel students and parents.

“It’s just devastating,” said Valley View parent Joe Grasso, 40, whose 12-year-old son, Aaron, was friends with Ricky. “It’s no reflection on them as a family. It could be anyone, anywhere.”

Aaron Grasso said he spent a good part of the day crying.

“There was so much me and Ricky had in common, he was just really cool,” the youngster said. “I didn’t get to say goodbye.”

Meanwhile in Thousand Oaks, undercover officers kept a watch over the Teasdale Street home of Reynaldo Rodriguez and the home of his parents, Reynaldo Sr. and Alicia Rodriguez, where family members gathered throughout the day.

Relatives wouldn’t say anything about Rodriguez.

Several Agencies Involved in Search

Neighbors, however, described him as an affable, outgoing man who enjoyed children.

“He would take nightly walks and was just as pleasant as could be,” said Lindalisa Louis, 42, who lives down the street. “He walked a lot. His general demeanor was friendly and open.”

Another neighbor, Christi Raftery, 28, said her children liked talking with Rodriguez and were wondering if he would ever come back.

“He was a very, very good neighbor,” she said.

Police have launched a manhunt for Rodriguez involving several police agencies in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The suspect is described as having brown hair and brown eyes, weighing 140 pounds and is about 5 feet, 6 inches tall.

Simi Valley Police Sgt. Karl Becker said the department has averaged about 10 calls an hour since Wednesday’s shooting from people saying they have either seen Rodriguez or the blue Explorer.

At one point Thursday, dozens of armed officers responded to a call of a man matching Rodriguez’s description and toting a shotgun at a medical complex on a hillside behind Simi Valley Hospital.

Within minutes, police officers and sheriff’s deputies surrounded the building. A sheriff’s helicopter circled overhead as shotgun-wielding officers, led by a police dog, searched the complex.

The search was called off within an hour after police determined that the “gunman” was merely a gardener working in a nearby field and carrying a hoe.

Authorities said Wednesday’s incident began when Rodriguez arrived at the Calderons’ two-story Yurok Court home about 3:44 p.m. and walked toward an open garage door. He was inside briefly, police said, but quickly ran back to his car, possibly to retrieve a handgun.

Rigoberto Calderon met Rodriguez as he stepped into the garage, police said. Rodriguez said nothing as he opened fire, hitting the youngster in the right thigh, police said.

Rodriguez then walked inside the five-bedroom home, where he found Rigoberto’s sister, Lucia Vargas, and Lucia’s grandmother, Esperanza Martinez, police said. Vargas was struck in the hand and the abdomen. Martinez was shot several times in the midsection and died.

Rodriguez then ran upstairs looking for more victims, police said.

He found Shantal Rios, the daughter of his former girlfriend, and shot her to death, police said. Shantal’s uncle, Ricardo Calderon, was also killed, his small body struck with several bullets.

As the shots rang out, Rafael Calderon Jr. scrambled to escape through a window in a second-story bathroom, police said. Calderon dropped to the ground, injuring his ankle, and hobbled to a next-door neighbor’s house to call 911.

Police said Rodriguez was in search of his ex-girlfriend, who had just moved back in with her family about two weeks ago. But she was not home and Rodriguez lashed out at anyone he found inside, they said.

Feeling of Community Shattered by Attack

“He went throughout that house finding his victims,” Simi Valley Police Lt. Rex Jones said.

Neighbors Thursday were still trying to come to terms with a shooting that not only devastated a family but shattered a feeling of community enjoyed by residents, many of whom moved to Simi Valley because of its reputation as one of America’s safest cities.

“I guess you need to go someplace where there’s no one at all, maybe the desert,” said Tony Dalirifar, who lives two doors down from the Calderon house. “As long as people have guns it’s not going to be safe.”

Paul Morales, a friend of the family, said the killings show that even in a neighborhood that many who live there have called the Beverly Hills of Simi Valley, there is no safe place.

“We are totally devastated,” he said. “We moved here to be safe. Now I can’t even feel good about letting our daughter play in the courtyard.”

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Times staff writers Tina Dirmann and Jenifer Ragland contributed to this story.