Bio 

Reynaldo Herrera Rodriguez was born around 1966. By 2001, he was living in Thousand Oaks, California, and worked as a civil engineer for Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation. Rodriguez had been casually involved with Maria Calderon, also reported in some sources as Maria Rios. She was 24 years old at the time and had recently ended the relationship. Police later believed Rodriguez went to her family’s home intending to find her, but she was not there.

Reports stated that Rodriguez may have believed, wrongly, that his former girlfriend had given him a viral disease. Later reporting said an autopsy found that Rodriguez was not infected with HIV. Before the shooting, Rodriguez reportedly bought a 9mm handgun about a week earlier. On September 5, 2001, a fire also broke out at his Thousand Oaks home shortly before the Simi Valley attack. Authorities investigated the fire as suspicious.

Murder Story

On September 5, 2001, Reynaldo Herrera Rodriguez went to the Simi Valley home of Maria Calderon’s family. Maria was not home at the time. The shooting began at about 3:45 p.m. when Rodriguez entered through or near the open garage. He first encountered 16-year-old Rigoberto Calderon and opened fire, wounding him in the leg. Rodriguez then went inside the house. He found Lucia Vargas and Esperanza Martinez. Lucia was shot in the hand and abdomen. Esperanza Martinez, age 80, was shot several times and died.

Rodriguez then went upstairs looking for more victims. He found 4-year-old Shantal Rios, Maria’s daughter, and shot her to death. He also shot and killed 12-year-old Ricardo Calderon. Rafael Calderon Jr. escaped by jumping from a second-story bathroom window. He injured his ankle and wrist while fleeing and went to a neighbor’s house to call 911.

After the shooting, Rodriguez fled in a rented blue 2002 Ford Explorer. Police launched a large search involving several agencies across Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Investigators later found that Rodriguez had left a note on Maria’s front porch. According to court documents cited by the Los Angeles Times, the note said he believed he had contracted a virus and blamed Maria. An autopsy later determined that Rodriguez was not infected with HIV.

On September 7, 2001, authorities found Rodriguez’s rented Ford Explorer near a campground in the Los Padres National Forest, north of Ojai. When deputies approached, Rodriguez ran into the woods. Officers later heard a single gunshot. Searchers found Rodriguez dead from a gunshot wound to the head, with a gun near his body.