Tragic Murder-Suicide in LA Suburb Leaves 3 Dead, Daughter Survives

A 19-year-old woman survived an apparent murder-suicide in a Los Angeles suburb that left three family members dead, California officials said. At around 8 a.m. on Jan. 15, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responded to a Lakewood, California, home for a call of an assault with a deadly weapon, according to a sheriff's department update on Jan. 16. The caller, the family's eldest daughter, told authorities that her father shot at her. She said he was now on the floor unconscious. The daughter said she awoke to gunshots inside her family’s home, officials said. She then saw her father, Hector Lionel Alfaro, 52, appear near her, armed with a handgun, officials said. He shot at her several times but didn’t hit her. Then, he shot himself while standing near her, according to officials. Deputies searched the home and found Alfaro in the den of the home with a gunshot wound to his upper torso. In a bedroom, deputies found a 48-year-old woman, Alfaro’s wife, with gunshot wounds to her torso. In a second bedroom, deputies then found Alfaro’s youngest daughter, 17, shot in her upper torso. The father, wife and youngest daughter were pronounced dead at the scene. Deputies found two firearms at the home. A sheriff's spokesperson said there is no indication of an outstanding suspect. The sheriff’s department declined to answer additional questions on the incident. The investigation is still ongoing. Lakewood, located about 15 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, has a population of nearly 79,000.