Richard_Lawrence_Photo/iStock(SAN DIEGO) — Five family members are dead, and another is undergoing emergency surgery following a shooting at a San Diego home, just a day after one of the victims obtained a restraining order against the alleged suspect.
“We are not looking for a suspect. This was a domestic dispute involving one family,” San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said during a press conference Saturday.
A 31-year-old male, a 29-year-old female and a 3-year-old boy were pronounced dead at the scene. Three other children were rushed to a local hospital where two have been pronounced dead and a third is in “very critical condition,” police said. All of the young victims were the children of the deceased adults.
Around 6:49 local time Saturday morning, police said they received a 911 call from the residence, but no one was on the line. The dispatcher told authorities that an argument could be heard in the background and someone was told to leave the house.
While officers were on their way to the home, a neighbor called 911 to say he heard an argument and what he thought was a nail gun firing.
When San Diego police arrived on the scene, officers observed a small child covered in blood through the window. Police said the male suspect came over to the home Saturday morning, where an argument ensued and the altercation turned deadly. He then, police said, turned the gun on himself.
“As you can imagine, I’ve been doing this almost 32 years, these are the toughest calls you can respond to,” Nisleit said during the press conference. “This job, you do it long enough, unfortunately, you see incidents like this. Any time you go to a child death, whether it be a natural or in this case, a criminal act, your mind is not meant to filter that kind of information.”
Nisleit said officers responded to a domestic-type disturbance at the same address two weeks ago over an argument over property. He said the couple had been separated for “some time,” and they were going through some type of divorce process.
During that incident with police, officers gave the mother information on how to obtain a restraining order. San Diego Police Lt. Matt Dobbs said she obtained it Friday. While it remains unclear if the father was formally served the restraining order, “we do believe the suspect was aware of it.”
At the request of family, police are not releasing the victims’ names or additional information about them at this time.
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