In a news release on Monday, the Los Angeles County California Sheriff’s Department (LASD) said deputies responded to a report of a “woman screaming” at about 10 p.m. on Sunday night in the 5000 block of Crown Avenue, in the LA suburb of La Canada Flintridge, according to the Associated Press.
KTLA5 News reports that Lt. David Coleman of the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said based on a preliminary investigation, the couple apparently had some sort of fight or altercation when the husband opened fire. When deputies arrived on scene, they found the front door open.
Coleman said when they entered the house, they found the 32-year-old woman with an apparent gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Although no names have been released, officials describe the woman as an off-duty sheriff’s deputy with two years on the force.
The LASD learned the husband had entered the home, shot the wife and, taking their six-year-old son with him, left the house. The young boy, who had possibly witnessed the shooting, was dropped off at a relative’s home by the husband before he went to an LA County fire facility located on Osborne Street in Pacoima, where he shot himself.
“We don’t know if he witnessed the incident,” Coleman said. “He’s with family and we’ll interview the child at a later time.”
Coleman said the husband’s body was found inside a county vehicle on county property. The LASD was notified of the husband’s death by the Los Angeles Police Department after they responded to the Pacoima facility and found the deceased firefighter along with the weapon.
The LASD is investigating the case, looking into whether the couple had a history of marital discord or violence. “It’s tragic that it comes to ending like that, and especially when there is a child involved,” Coleman said. “Certainly the families are really going to be affected by it, and our great concern right now is the well-being of the child. How he’s going to move forward with both parents gone.”
