63-year-old Anthony Alvarez, a northern California man, reportedly shot his two adult daughters, killing one and critically injuring the other before apparently committing suicide with his three young grandchildren were in the home, authorities said, the Associated Press reported.
Jennifer Kimble was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds, while her sister Valerie Alvarez had at least one gunshot wound and was flown to a Fresno hospital and is listed in critical condition. Kimble's 8-year-old daughter called to report gunfire before day, and upon their arrival, deputies found Alvarez dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. It happened around 4:40 a.m at the home, in the very residential neighborhood in Orosi, a town of about 9,000 people, 20 miles southeast of Fresno, California.
Sgt. Chris Douglass said that while the investigation was continuing and autopsies are planned for later in the week, there is little doubt that Alvarez shot his daughters and then turned the gun on himself, in this murder-suicide case.
None of the three grandchildren who were in the house were hurt. They were reunited with their father who had been at work during the shootings.
"It's a very cut-and-dried case," she said. But, a motive has yet been established.
"I'm just as surprised as anyone else right now," said Brenda Lightfoot-Handy, director of food services at Palm Elementary school. Kimble worked in elementary school's cafeteria, and was described as a dedicated, caring employee, according to Lightfoot-Handy. "I'm just trying to process this," she told the Fresno Bee.
