A 16-year-old mother and her young son appeared to be fleeing what authorities described as a «massacre» at their California home when they were shot in the head, authorities said Tuesday.
Alissa Parraz and 10-month-old Nycholas Parraz were among six people killed in the small farming community of Goshen overnight Monday in what Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said was a gang-related shooting. or cartels.
The sheriff’s office initially said the teen was 17 and their baby was 6 months old. Forensics showed that one or more people stood over them when they fired, Boudreaux said.
Their bodies were found on the street in front of the house, he said.
Others killed in the shooting included Rosa Parraz, 72; Marcos Parraz, 19; Eladio Parraz, 52; and Jennifer Analla, 49.
Eladio Parraz was the teens’ uncle, Rosa Parraz was their grandmother and Analla was in a relationship with another family member who did not die, sheriff’s spokeswoman Teresa Douglass said.
Boudreaux said: “None of this was by accident. It was deliberate, intentional and horrible.»
Authorities believe two people were responsible for the shooting. Neither has been identified or taken into custody, and Boudreaux was unable to provide a possible description.
A person who called 911 and reported the shooting around 3:30 a.m. was inside the home and survived, Boudreaux said Tuesday.
«I could hear gunshots up and down the hall,» he said. «He put his feet against the door so they wouldn’t open it.»
At one point, he could hear the shooters banging on the doorknob before moving on, Boudreaux said.
«I was in such a state of fear that all I could do was hold the door, hoping I wouldn’t be the next victim,» Boudreaux said.
Two more survivors were hiding in a nearby trailer where one of the victims was fatally shot, he said, adding that the shooters did not enter the trailer. Three other victims were found in the house.
Agents arrived at the home in the unincorporated community in California’s Central Valley seven minutes after authorities began receiving 911 reports.
By then, Boudreaux said, the shooters were «long gone.»
Boudreaux declined to say why the family appeared to have been targeted by a gang or cartel. He said the house has previously been linked to «routine» gang activity.
One of the victims, Eladio Parraz, was arrested there earlier this month when authorities conducted a parole compliance check, Boudreaux said. It was discovered that she was a felon in possession of multiple weapons and a controlled substance.
Parraz was released on bail four days later, Boudreaux said.
A $10,000 reward has been offered for information on the killings, he said.