According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the daughter woke up to gunshots inside her parents’ home.
California authorities say a 19-year-old woman has survived an apparent murder-suicide that left three family members dead in a Los Angeles suburb.
According to a January 16 Sheriff’s Office update, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon at a residence in Lakewood, California, at approximately 8 a.m. on January 15.
The caller, the eldest daughter of the family, told authorities that her father had shot her. She said he was now lying unconscious on the floor.
Officials said the daughter said she woke up to the sound of gunshots inside her parents’ home. Officials said she then saw her father, Hector Lionel Alfaro, 52, appear near her with a handgun.
He fired several times at her, but missed. Officials said the man then committed suicide while standing near her.
When police searched the home, they found Alfaro in his study with gunshot wounds to his upper body.
Investigators found Alfaro’s wife, a 48-year-old woman, in the bedroom with a gunshot wound to the torso. Investigators later found Alfaro’s youngest daughter, 17, shot in the upper body in a second bedroom.
The father, wife, and youngest daughter were pronounced dead at the scene. Officers found two firearms in the home.
A sheriff’s spokesperson said there were no obvious signs of a suspect. The Sheriff’s Office declined to answer additional questions about the incident. The investigation is still ongoing.
Lakewood is located approximately 25 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles and has a population of approximately 79,000.
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