Murder-Suicide: Sheriff’s Deputy Shot By Firefighter Husband In Front Of 6-Year-Old Child
A deputy for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was found dead at her home in La Cañada Flintridge in an apparent murder-suicide involving her firefighter husband.
According to CBS Local News, police responded to calls about a woman screaming at around 10 p.m. on Sunday and found the 32-year-old woman sheriff’s deputy suffering from a gunshot wound inflicted during the murder-suicide. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene. The identity of the woman has not been released.
Police believe that the murder-suicide was carried out by the victim’s husband, who has also not been identified pending further investigation. The man was a firefighter who had worked for the Los Angeles County Fire Department for the past five years. Preliminary investigations led detectives to believe that the murder-suicide took place when the firefighter entered the home of the sheriff’s deputy, shot his wife, then left to commit suicide.
“The suspect then fled the scene and drove to Los Angeles County Fire Facility in Pacoima where he killed himself,” said Deputy Mike Barraza. “The suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
According to NBC Los Angeles, the 6-year-old child of the couple was present for the murder-suicide but was not injured in the attack. The firefighter reportedly took the child with him when he fled the scene, dropped him off at a family member’s house, then left to kill himself.
Police found the body of the firefighter after Los Angeles Police officers received a call about a dead body found at the LA County fire facility on Osborne Street in Pacoima. When they arrived, they found the culprit of the murder-suicide dead from a self-inflicted wound.
The weapon used in the murder-suicide was found at the scene.
Detectives are continuing the investigation and accepting tips from anyone who may have information regarding the murder-suicide of the deputy sheriff and the firefighter.
According to KTLA, Lt. David Coleman of the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau held a press conference about the incident, reporting that the couple had seemingly been fighting before the murder-suicide occurred.
“It’s tragic that it comes to ending like that, and especially when there is a child involved. 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.”
For an even more tragic murder-suicide story, read about the murder-suicide in Georgia that claimed the lives of two children and two adults.
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