A real estate inspector was killed and three others were injured during a Huntington Beach property dispute on Saturday.
The Huntington Beach Police Department responded to a shooting on the 4500 block of Operetta Drive between Bolsa Chica Street and Fantasia Lane in California’s Orange County, according to ABC News.
Four people who were in the front yard of the property were transported to the hospital with gunshot wounds and Michael Alderson, a 66-year-old real estate inspector from Anaheim, did not survive, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Huntington Police Department had initially only specified that a “real estate professional” had been killed but later revealed Alderson as the victim. According to his LinkedIn profile, Alderson was the owner of Inspectall, a real estate inspection company founded in 2003. On its site, the company says that it identifies “potential risk and problems that may exist in the home and to put the findings in a written report.”
Alderson’s wife, Sherry Biggers, is a well-known Realtor with brokerage Realty Pro 100 near Anaheim, California, who formerly worked at Keller Williams in Anaheim Hills. A GoFundMe account that was created in her name to help cover funeral costs had already generated $25,000 on Tuesday.
The other three, including the suspected shooter who is currently in custody, are expected to make a recovery. It remains unclear if the injured included other inspectors, agents or bystanders but police captain Tim Martin told the press, that “a group of real estate professionals accompanied a family member to view the residence when the shooting took place.”
“What we know is it appears to be an ongoing family dispute over a property here, a residence,” police spokesperson Julian Harvey said in a statement to news outlets. “Some real estate professionals came today to view the property when the shooting occurred.”
But neighbors interviewed by reporters on the scene claimed that the dispute arose after an elderly father passed away and his siblings could not reach an agreement over what to do with his home. Some claimed that a property viewing was arranged without the others’ consent.
“One wanted to sell, one wanted to keep the house and that’s not the way to work it out,” neighbor Don Pruette told ABC.