An Oklahoma father killed his wife and three children, who are all under the age of 10, in what police are calling a “massacre.”
The Oklahoma City Police Department says that it responded to a “domestic call” at a property to find five people suffering from gunshot wounds. Three people were already dead when police arrived on the scene on Wednesday night.
The two who were still alive were suspected shooter Ruben Armendariz, 28, and one child. Although both were transported to nearby hospitals, they have since died, said investigators.
The police said they think Armendariz and victim Cassandra Flores, 29, were married but separated; investigators said that it looked like Armendariz “shot the four victims before turning the gun on himself.”
Police added that the investigation is ongoing, as they are trying to “piece together the chain of events that led to the massacre.”
The three children were identified as 9-year-old Hillary Armendariz, 5-year-old Damaris Armendariz, and 2-year-old Matias Armendariz.
Flores’s best friend, Jennifer Johnson, told News 9, “It’s just not real. I never expected that of Ruben at all. Like he was so quiet, but they’ve been together since she was like 17, so you know they’ve been together for a long time.”
“This investigation is in the very early stages, and detectives are currently trying to piece together the chain of events that led to the massacre,” police said in a statement.
