Father kills three children, himself in California church shooting

A father reportedly killed his three children, a woman and himself at a Sacramento, Calif., church Monday evening, in what authorities are describing as a “domestic violence” incident. 

Sergeant Rod Grassmann, a spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, said that the three children were all under 15, reports FOX 40 Sacramento.

“This was not a random shooting,” said Grassman, according to the Sacramento Bee. The shooter and victims “all knew each other,” he said.

Grassmann also called the shooting a “domestic violence incident,” according to USA Today. 

The woman who was killed seems to have been supervising the shooter’s visit with his children, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

“The shooter came in and — what appears to be — killed the person was supervising the visit, killed his own three children and then turned the gun on himself,” Sherriff Scott Jones told the Bee. He said that the woman may have been a church employee or a social worker.

Law enforcement said that they were called by a church employee who heard gunshots around 5 p.m.

“This is an unspeakable tragedy. It happens too often, and tonight it happened in our backyard,” wrote Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg in a tweet after the shooting. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted: “Another senseless act of gun violence in America – this time in our backyard. In a church with kids inside. Absolutely devastating.”