Tragic Shooting At Arden Church Highlights Troubling Domestic Violence Trend
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Monday's tragic shooting that saw a father kill his three daughters and their chaperone before turning the gun on himself during a supervised visit is just the latest example of the growing number of domestic violence tragedies in Sacramento.
Domestic violence experts are noticing a troubling trend in recent crimes.
"The severity of the violence is increasing notably," said Dawn Bladet, assistant chief deputy district attorney.
So just how many domestic violence cases are there in Sacramento County? Last year, there was more than 4,500 reports filed. That's a 25% increase in just two years.
"It's been incredibly difficult for us in the domestic violence community to be looking at the numbers we're seeing," Bladet said.
In addition to Monday's mass shooting, there have been three other domestic violence murders in just the last two months – including one that happened in front of three children.
"It certainly shows us that it's a cause that warrants resources," Bladet said.
Bladet is on the county's domestic violence death review team – a committee that examines what's causing these crimes and makes recommendations to prevent them.
"Firearms remain a consistent theme in domestic violence homicides," she said.
The team released a new set of findings three months ago. One of their top recommendations was to increase efforts to confiscate guns from people who have been served domestic violence restraining orders.
"We can certainly in law enforcement do what we can to take away the tools from someone who has their mind set on committing that kind of horror," Bladet said.
Team members say, right now, it's up to the suspects to hand over weapons.
"There's something of an honor system at play, asking perpetrators who are now prohibited from possessing firearms to voluntarily relinquish their firearms," said Alison Kephart with WEAVE, which aims to combat sexual assault, domestic violence and sex trafficking in Sacramento County
Recommendations include creating a team of officers to proactively search and seize guns. They say it may have made a difference in this most recent tragedy.
"The fact that he had access to a weapon, the fact that he was able to use it in the way that he did, we would hope that that visit, the knock on the door would get the weapon out of his hands," Bladet said.
Right now, they say the biggest hurdle is funding and resources, although the state recently awarded nearly five million dollars to local law enforcement agencies to help seize guns from prohibited persons.
And once again, help is available 24/7 for victims of domestic violence. You can call 1-800-799-7233. You can also text "start" to 88788.