Couple Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide While 7 Children Were Home
PANORAMA CITY (CBSLA.com) — A man killed his common-law wife while seven children were in the extended family's apartment, then apparently turned the shotgun on himself on Friday night, according to Los Angeles police.
The 41-year-old man, whose name has not been released, drank at least five beers before the incident, police said. A friend of the alleged shooter said the man had called to say he was going to kill himself, then sent a text message saying he was going to kill his wife as well. When the friend arrived at the apartment in the 8700 block of Tobais Avenue, he heard yelling and then gunshots.
LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon, the commanding officer of the Mission Detective Division, said the shooter fired three rounds from a sawed-off shotgun before the boyfriend of the victim's 19-year-old daughter "wrestled" him out of the apartment.
"He may have saved the lives of the others," Vernon said.
At least one of the rounds struck the woman, Vernon said. The shooter, who had tried to turn the gun on himself inside the home, eventually shot himself in the head outside.
In addition to a 10-year old daughter shared by the couple, the woman's 13- and 16-year-old sons and three of her grandchildren were also in the apartment at the time of the shooting, police said.
"It's lucky no one else was killed or wounded in that crowded apartment, either on purpose or by accident, thanks in part to the boyfriend," Vernon said.