At least six people, including four generations of one family, were killed in what police have described as a “targeted massacre” at a California residence known to them for drug-related activity. On Monday, at around 03:30 (11:30 GMT), police were called to the property in Goshen, California, a town of 3,000 people, by a survivor of the shooting. When they arrived, they found two bodies on the street and four inside the home. The victims have been identified by investigators as: Rosa Parraz, 72; Eladio Parraz Jr, 52; Jennifer Analla, 50; Marcos Parraz, 19; Elyssa Parraz, 16; and Nycholas Parraz, 10 months old. The 16-year-old mother and her 10-month-old son were among those killed, police and family say. The home had been raided by police last week and authorities had found stashes of marijuana and methamphetamines.
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said that the killings appear “similar to high-ranking gang executions, and the style of execution they commit”, as the victims were “shot in places where a shooter knew that quick death would occur”. He added that the child and mother appeared to have been fleeing the scene, and that forensic evidence shows the killer stood over the victims and fired at their heads from above. The FBI’s San Francisco office is assisting in the investigation, and a $10,000 (£8,100) reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest. Police are also monitoring the Mexico and Canada border for the suspects, the sheriff said, adding that the “very insecure border” has allowed Mexican drug cartel activity to grow in the central California area in recent years.
Sheriff Boudreaux said that the massacre was deliberate, intentional and horrific, and urged members of the public to check CCTV cameras on their property for video of suspicious vehicles in the area between 03:00 to 05:00 on Monday. Elyssa Parraz’s grandfather, Samuel Pina, said that the baby’s uncle, grandmother and great-grandmother were also killed, and expressed his shock that someone could commit such a heinous crime.
Hundreds of items of evidence have been collected so far, and results of post-mortem examinations of the victims are expected by Friday. Police are still seeking two known suspects in the massacre, but have not released their names due to the possibility that the killers are watching in order to avoid capture. The tragedy has shocked the community of Goshen, and left family and friends mourning the loss of four generations of one family. The victims were innocent, Sheriff Boudreaux said, and authorities are doing everything they can to bring their killers to justice and ensure this tragedy is not repeated.