Six family members escaped a gunman rampaging through their home by climbing through a window and hiding on a roof as a brutal attack left a father, son and daughter dead and a mother critically wounded, authorities said.
Joseph Mercado, 26, is suspected of shooting and killing 25-year-old Serena Tarin, his former girlfriend, with an assault-type rifle on Thursday in what appeared to be a domestic dispute involving custody issues with their nine-month-old son, Lieutenant Don Slawson said.
Mercado also poured gasoline on an exterior wall, but failed to ignite it, Slawson said.
The attack was halted when two patrol deputies rushed to the home after hearing a burst of gunfire. They confronted Mercado as he left the house carrying a gun. One of the deputies shot at Mercado, who was arrested after a bullet grazed his head.
“I believe if the deputies weren’t there, we’d have a lot more deceased and the house would be burned to the ground,” Slawson said.
The attack began at about 4am in the Hawaiian Gardens neighborhood, south of Los Angeles, when the gunman broke into the residence and went room-to-room shooting anyone he encountered.
“[I heard] 20 gunshots ... two little gunshots after that and a couple of minutes later, sirens and helicopters,” neighbor Linda Sanchez said.
Six family members, including children, climbed out an upstairs window and hid on the roof until deputies arrived, Slawson said.
Inside the home, authorities found the bodies of Serena Tarin and her 20-year-old brother Alfredo. Their father, Alfredo Tarin Sr, 53, died hours later at Long Beach Memorial Hospital, spokeswoman Krista Harlow said. His wife Luciana Tarin was hospitalized in critical condition.
The two police deputies were driving through the neighborhood when they heard gunshots and received a radio call involving shots fired.
They sped to the home and saw a man with an assault-type rifle come outside. He refused to drop the weapon and turned toward one of the deputies, who fired two shots, Slawson said.
Relatives told the Los Angeles Times that Serena Tarin, who split with Mercado months after their son was born, had been seeing someone new and Mercado was incensed.
He also clashed over the child with Serena Tarin’s mother.
Mercado said in court documents that Luciana Tarin “threatens to take my son from me.”
Detectives recovered Mercado’s pickup truck some 24km away late on Thursday.
Neighbor Javier Leon said he had been working a night shift and just returned home about two blocks from the shooting scene when he heard four shots.
“I turned on my TV and then: ‘Boom, boom, boom, boom,’” he said.
Residents said there have been drive-by gang shootings in the neighborhood, but they couldn’t recall such a frenzied attack.
Relatives said that dozens of members of the family had lived in the home and adjacent houses for generations.
Hawaiian Gardens is a tiny city in the southeast corner of Los Angeles County. It has long been plagued by gangs and much of its revenue comes from a casino.
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