Stunned by Shooting, Locals Grieve on Social Media

The shooting rampage at a beauty salon in Seal Beach on Wednesday that left eight people dead and one in critical condition stunned the quiet beachside locale of only about 26,000 people, which bills itself as the city of "surf, sun and fun."

Shortly after news of the shooting came out, area residents and former residents of the town took to social media sites to express their shock at the brutal killings and sympathy for the victims and their families. Friends and family members of the victims are planning a candlelight vigil outside the salon to begin at 8 p.m. Thursday (conflicting reports also have the vigil scheduled for 7 p.m. Patch will update the time as soon as it is available).

The Seal Beach Police Department has arranged counseling services for anyone traumatized by the tragedy. The police department can be reached at 562-799-4100.

Here are some of the messages that showed up on Facebook in the hours following the massacre:

• "Heart is out to families affected in seal beach shooting"— Keegan Elliot Fonte, Seal Beach resident
• "sleepy little Seal Beach... prayers to the families of those affected!"—Kelly Humphrey, Seal Beach resident
• "Very SAD day in Seal Beach today, my heart goes out to the victims family and friends, what a tragic day :("—Gabi Guthner, Seal Beach resident
• "Special prayers for his son whose life is forever changed along with so many innocent lives ♥"—Amanda Angrisani
• "My heartfelt prayers go out to Randy's family. May you find comfort in God's words to give you strength. Randy had cut my hair for many years. Randy has the biggest heart for people. One of the most gracious and caring man I have met. May you rest in peace. ♥"—Tammie Fisher Waldo
• "seal beach ♥"—Tracy Lundblad, Los Alamitos High School alumna
• "My thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of the victims of the Seal Beach shooting today... What kind of psycho goes on a killing rampage in broad daylight in such a quaint and peaceful city? :("—Maryam Ahmadinia‎, Los Alamitos resident
• "my heart goes out to EVERYONE...what a sad day in an AMAZING community. My thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their lives and a loved one..."—Anna Buzzone Barler
• "my heart is breaking for my city"—Ashley Egge, originally from Seal Beach
• "It's awful and tragic. My heart is heavy fir all affected by this unthinkable nightmare."—Desi Houghton
• "Tragic day for Seal Beach. My thoughts go out to the families of the victims."—Brittany Rausch, Los Alamitos High School alumna
• "what happened today in seal beach hurts me deeply. This is my home and my safe haven. For someone to go [and] hurt that...disgusts me. I truly have everyone in my prayers and my heart"—Morgan Hernandez, Los Alamitos High School alumna
• "My hair stylist survived, but his work family passed away in front of him. The loss is indescribable . I loved going to my hair therapy. Everyone there was so close and special."—Tracy Hallford
• "My thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by the tragedy" — Jamie Summers
• "Shocked. Just found out about the horrible mass murder in my home town. My heart goes out to each and every one of you in Seal Beach"— Katie Farrar
• "Ours is a lovely little town where people are still people and not yet entirely plastic. In spite of yesterday's tragedy, let us continue our role as one of the only little nooks in OC where passersby smile at one another. <333" — Amelia Hassani

As the news of the attacks spread, "Seal Beach" also became a trending Twitter topic among Los Angeles-area users.