A California senior citizen community has been rocked after four people were found dead in a “multi-victim homocide” at one of its properties.
The four victims, who had all been shot, were identified Thursday as a 33-year-old woman, a 28-year-old man, and another man and woman who were both 67, according to a statement from the Santa Rosa Police Department. Police have yet to disclose their names or relationship to one another.
The bodies were discovered at a home after Santa Rosa officials received a concerned call from the boyfriend of one of the occupants Wednesday afternoon requesting a welfare check.
He told police he had not heard from his girlfriend, one of the residents, in several days. Upon arrival, police forced their way into the home through a window, according to KTVU.
According to police, all four are believed to be family members and were found in different rooms of a home on Monarch Court, part of the Valle Vista senior subdivision, with “significant gunshot wounds”. They were all pronounced deceased at the scene.
Local outlet The Press Democrat reported that the victims are presumed to be a mother, her two adult children and a fourth person.
Valle Vista Management Association President Karen Squaglia described them as living a “quiet life,” adding that the mother received special permission to have her disabled children live with her, according to the outlet.
Police confirmed to The Independent that they were waiting for a formal identification to be made following autopsies by the coroner Friday.
Five unharmed pets were also recovered from inside the crime scene by Sonoma County Animal Services Wednesday, including two Chihuahuas, a rat terrier, and two cats.
Neighbors told The Press Democrat that the trash hadn’t been taken out on Monday night – raising suspicions.
Sgt. Brandon Matthies told the outlet: “Living in a senior community, sometimes you get this false sense of security that these types of things don’t happen here.”
“It’s just another shock of reality of the world that we live in today. Nobody is exempt”, Matthies added.
Detectives from the SRPD Violent Crime Team said they searched a residence connected to one of the occupants in Buena Crest Court, San Jose.
An investigation is ongoing.
The Santa Rosa Police statement added: “The motive and circumstances of the shooting are currently under investigation by the SRPD Violent Crimes Team. We still do not believe there is any threat to the public. The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact the SRPD Violent Crime Team at 707-543-3590.”
The Independent contacted the Santa Rosa Police Department for further information as well as the Valle Vista management association for comment.