Authorities say the man suspected of killing four people and wounding another in a shooting in Orange, California had “personal and professional relationships” with the victims, though police haven’t announced a possible motive in the attack. One of those killed was a 9-year old boy, who died in his mother’s arms, according to Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.

Police say that the 44-year old suspect, who was a co-worker of those that were targeted, was himself shot by responding officers, and is currently in a local hospital. It would appear that the attack involved some level of planning, since responding officers reported that the gates to the office complex where the shooting took place were locked from the inside with a cable lock. The adult victims are believed to have worked at a company called Unified Homes, while the 9-year old who was shot and killed was the son of one of the employees.

As for the type of firearm that was used in the attack, police say they recovered a semi-automatic handgun, along with a backpack with ammunition, pepper spray, and a pair of handcuffs.

Gun control organizations and anti-gun were quick to seize on the attack to push for new gun control measures at the federal level.

Fred Guttenberg, who lost his daughter Jamie in the school shooting, tweeted, “Another mass shooting with multiple casualties, including a child. The shooter shot at law enforcement. This public health emergency will NOT solve itself. We need national leadership NOW. Americans voted for background checks & the Senate must act.”

The attack in Orange is heartbreaking, but Guttenberg offers no evidence that a federal universal background check law would have prevented it. In fact, we don’t know if the suspect was legally eligible to own or purchase a firearm, but we do know that the state of California already has a universal background check law on the books, in addition to many other gun control laws, including:

• a 10-day waiting period on all firearm transfers
• a ban on the sale of magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds
• background checks on the sale of all ammunition
• a ban on unregistered, home-built firearms (including handguns)
• gun rationing laws limiting purchases to one per month
• “may-issue” concealed carry licensing
• “red flag” firearm seizure laws

It’s hard to argue that California doesn’t have enough gun control laws in place, given that gun control groups like Giffords regularly give the state an “A” grade when it comes to gun laws. For gun control activists though, it doesn’t matter what laws are on the books. When a crime like the Orange shootings takes place, it’s inevitably evidence of the need for more restrictions, rather than evidence that these restrictions aren’t effective in preventing these types of attacks.

What would work? Well, in order to give an accurate answer we need to wait for more facts to emerge, which is something else that gun control activists don’t really like to do. Why wait for the facts, after all, when they already know what their answer is going to be?