Robert Nelson Jr., 54, a male from Stockton, was shot at about 8 a.m. on July 17, 2025, inside a CrossFit/Elkhorn Fitness gym on the 800 block of West Eight Mile Road. He was found with a gunshot wound to the back and later died as a result of his injuries.
The shooter was identified as 35-year-old Miguel Lopez a former California Highway Patrol officer from Lodi.
After firing on Robert Nelson Jr., 54, male, the gunman turned the weapon on himself and died at the scene, leading investigators to classify the incident as a murder-suicide.
Detectives soon connected the Stockton shooting to a homicide in Garden Grove earlier that morning, where the suspect’s wife, Crystal Gonzalez, was found dead during a welfare check. Authorities believe the killing in Southern California preceded the attack at the Stockton gym, and they treated the two scenes as part of a single chain of violence.
Robert Nelson Jr., 54, male, was publicly identified by the San Joaquin County Medical Examiner’s Office; memorial listings also record his date of death as July 17, 2025, in Stockton.
No arrests were made because the suspected gunman died at the scene. Police described the case as a murder-suicide and said the Stockton investigation was linked to the Garden Grove homicide, while questions about the exact motive remained under review.
