A man “who owned hundreds of guns” shot and killed two women and one man at a Rowland Heights home, before he was shot to death by his son, deputies said Friday.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to a home in the 2200 block of Batson Avenue at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday on a report of a gunshot victim, said Lt. John Saleeby of the sheriff’s Walnut Station.
“There was moaning heard in the background,” Saleeby said.
The 54-year-old man is believed to have shot and killed a 27-year-old man, a 48-year-old woman and a 54-year-old woman, said Deputy Trina Schrader of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
“According to witnesses, all but one of the victims was staying at the residence,” Schrader said.
“Sometime during the evening, the 54-year-old male took a handgun and shot the other victims. The suspect’s 33-year-old son was able to wrestle the gun away from his father and shot him one time, killing him.”
The 27-year-old male was identified by ABC7 as Ernesto Calzadilla.
It is not known why the 54-year-old man shot the others, she said.
A semi-automatic handgun, believed to be the murder weapon, was recovered at the scene, Schrader said.
The 33-year-old son, identified as Christopher Morey, was arrested for suspicion of murdering his father, booked at the Walnut Sheriff’s Station and was held in lieu of $1 million bail, she said.
Calzadilla’s father, Ronald Calzadilla, was interviewed by ABC7 at the scene of the shooting.
“That’s his backpack. This is the beer that we bought to celebrate New Year’s Day,” he said. “We were supposed to go celebrate.”
The elder Calzadilla lives about a block away from the crime scene, and told ABC7 his 54-year-old son owned hundreds of guns and would walk around the house with an AK-47 after having several beers.
He added that the shooting spree happened after a verbal argument.
—City News Service