Father Shoots Self After Killing His 3 Children, 1 Other Inside Arden Arcade Area Church
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Three children were shot dead by their father, who then took his own life, at a church in the Arden Arcade area Monday afternoon, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office confirmed.
Sgt. Rod Grassman also confirmed there was a fifth person killed. That person was a chaperone of the children and was there with them for a supervised visit with their father, who was the subject off a restraining order by his estranged wife.
#Breakingupdate Sheriff Jones confirms suspect was the subject of a restraining order by the estranged wife. Also, it was a supervised visit and one of the victims was the person supervising the visit. Not known if that person was church-member. pic.twitter.com/0l2aL5iLoq
— stevelarge (@largesteven) March 1, 2022
The children killed were ages 13, 10, and 9. They were all girls. The identities of the involved parties have not yet been released.
Authorities said the incident was contained inside the church. The scene was at The Church in Sacramento in the area of Wyda and Ethan ways near the Chick-fil-A by Arden Fair. A church worker in the building initially heard the gunshots around 5 p.m. and ran from the building to report them.
"My understanding is it was in the main sanctuary part of it, like in a conference room of some sort," Grassman said. "I don't have any reports of bullets leaving the property."
The sheriff's office said it was a case of domestic violence. Authorities said there are no outstanding suspects in this shooting.
One witness told CBS13 he saw police bring one victim out of the church. He said there was so much police traffic initially that ambulances couldn't get through to the scene.
Just before 7 p.m., authorities began pulling down crime scene tape that was blocking off the back entrance to the parking lot of Arden Fair.
Monday evening, Gov. Gavin Newsom released a statement on the shooting, saying:
"Another senseless act of gun violence in America - this time in our backyard. In a church with kids inside. Absolutely devastating. Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and their communities. We are working closely with local law enforcement."