Man Fatally Shoots 2 Children, Self, Police Say

A man drove his three children to an isolated hilltop above the lights of downtown Los Angeles and apparently shot two of them to death Friday before turning the gun on himself, police said.

Investigators believe that the man, Jesus Velasquez, 27, killed his son, about 7 years old, and daughter, about 8. He apparently also tried to kill his younger daughter, about 3, but she suffered only a grazing wound on the side of her head.

Based on what the surviving child told police, detectives were investigating whether Velasquez also shot the children’s mother before driving them to Johnston Street near Montecito Street in Montecito Heights, a quiet residential section of northeast Los Angeles. Neighbors heard gunshots about 5:40 p.m. and called police.

Officers responded to the scene and found the man in the driver’s seat, the boy in the passenger seat and the two other children in the back, said LAPD Det. Ben Lovato.

Velasquez and the boy were pronounced dead at the scene. Paramedics rushed the older girl to County-USC Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. The younger girl was treated at the hospital for powder burns and was to be released either to family members or the Los Angeles County Department of Children’s Services, Lovato said.

Police had not released the names of the children as of late Friday.

“It appears at this point it may be a murder-suicide,” Lovato said. “It’s a tragedy.”

Investigators were combing the crime scene for clues but had not discovered any motive for the shooting late Friday, he said.