Neighbors said they were aware Dekraai was feather hair extensions in a custody battle with his ex-wife over their son, who neighbors said is 7 or 8 years old.
"It was a very difficult battle and he was trying to get more time" with his son, said Jo Cornhall, who lives across the street from Dekraai.
Next-door neighbor Stephanie Malchow, 29, last saw Dekraai on Tuesday morning as she was leaving for work. She was shocked when she saw the photo of the stocky man with thinning hair being detained by Seal Beach police.
"I'm like, no, not this neighbor, no way, he's the nicest guy ever," Malchow said.
Dekraai married his current wife two or three years ago in his backyard, said Malchow, who attended the wedding.
"He seemed very happy, he was just so happy he found someone new who loved cheapest feather hair extensions online his son," she said.
Dekraai walked with a limp after a tug boat accident that killed a fellow tug boat operator about two miles off the coast in 2007. Cornhall said he uses a brace for his leg.
Police responding to a report of shots fired at Salon Meritage found six people dead and three wounded. Two of the wounded later died at a hospital. The other person was listed in critical condition.
Bowles said the victims were scattered throughout the salon. One wounded person, a man, was found outside the building. It wasn't known if he was the one person who survived.
Police were still trying to determine the sequence of events inside the shop. They wouldn't say what type of weapon was used or if the gunman used more wholesale feather hair extensions than one.
"We're unsure at this point if he shot from the entrance and people, as they were shot, ran in seeking cover or seeking shelter, but we have fatalities throughout the salon," Bowles told reporters at a news conference outside the business.
He said the salon was busy at the time, with every hairdressing station in operation.
Two former salon employees told The Associated Press the gunman's ex-wife was a stylist at the salon and that the couple had gone through a bitter divorce.
