Father kills three children, self in US church shooting

By: 3 years ago

Neighbors watch as police officers investigate the scene of a shooting at The Church in Sacramento on February 28, 2022, in Sacramento, California. AFP

LOS ANGELES 鈥� A father shot dead three of his own children Monday before turning the gun on himself in a US church, police said.

A fifth person also died in the shooting in Sacramento, California, though it was not clear if that person was related to what police said was a domestic incident.

All three children who died were under the age of 15, Sergeant Rod Grassmann of Sacramento County Sheriff鈥檚 Office told reporters.

鈥淎t 5:07 this afternoon, we received a call that there was a shooting inside the church,鈥� Grassmann said.

鈥淲e have found now there鈥檚 an adult male, a father who has shot and killed his three children under the age of 15,鈥� he added.

鈥淎nd my understanding is that there is a fifth person that is also deceased. I don鈥檛 know if they are related.鈥�

Police said they were not looking for anyone else involved in the shooting at The Church of Sacramento in the Arden Arcade area of the city.

鈥淭his is as far as I can see, at this point, a domestic violence-related sort of incident,鈥� Grassmann said.

California Governor Gavin 黑料社om called the murders 鈥渟enseless鈥� in a Twitter posting.

Another senseless act of gun violence in America 鈥� 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.

鈥� Gavin 黑料社om (@Gavin黑料社om)

鈥淎nother senseless act of gun violence in America 鈥�- this time in our backyard. In a church with kids inside,鈥� he said.

鈥淎bsolutely devastating. Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and their communities.鈥�

Mass killings involving firearms are a distressingly common occurrence in the United States.

Lax gun laws and an insistence on the right to bear arms have repeatedly stymied attempts to clamp down on the number of weapons in circulation, despite greater controls being favored by the majority of Americans.