Children Nearly Also Victims In Deadly Yuba City Shooting
YUBA CITY (CBS13/AP) - The shooting at a Yuba City home that claimed two women's lives, wounded a third and ended with police fatally shooting the suspected gunman stemmed from a domestic dispute, police said on Wednesday.
The gunman, Steven George Williams, 53, opened fire with a handgun on Tuesday afternoon after arguing with his sister-in-law, Janis Lyn Williams, 58, according to Yuba City police spokeswoman Shawna Pavey.
Janis Williams and Kimberly Ann Yancey, 53, were killed. The third victim, identified by police only as a 56-year-old woman, suffered a gunshot wound but is expected to survive. Police did not plan to release her name until they had a chance to interview her and get a statement.
Investigators believe Steven Williams entered the home from the back with a handgun around 4:15 p.m. Tuesday and shot Janis Williams and Yancey, who were in the kitchen, before opening fire on two children and two other women in the home as they tried to flee, Pavey said. He wounded the 56-year-old but the other woman and children were not hit.
"Janis and Kim were in the kitchen when Steven comes from behind with a handgun, shooting Janis, shooting Kim and then turning the gun on the (other) women and children," Pavey said.
Jennifer Clayton's daughter, 11, and son, 8, were at the house during the shooting but survived in part, she said, because of Janis.
"Nana told them to go and they ran out and as they were running out, they heard gunshots and they ran to my mother's house a couple houses down," she said.
Officers arriving at the scene saw Williams run out of the house with a handgun, Pavey said. He was shot by an officer about a block away after he refused to surrender, police said.
Authorities declined to release the officer's name but he has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the Sutter County District Attorney's Office.
One witness reported seeing the suspect without a weapon and with his hands up when the officer opened fire. But Pavey insisted on Wednesday that Williams had a gun in his hand. She did not know how many shots the officer fired or whether Williams fired at the officer.
Steven Williams lived in the home with Janis Williams, police said. The two other victims lived in a separate residence connected to the home.
"They were just nice people who were I think trying to help the brother-in-law out," Pavey said.
Clayton said Janis was a sweet woman. "She's always been a helpful, loving caring person," she said.
The handgun believed to have been used in the shooting has been recovered, police said.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.)
