VISALIA, Calif. (AP) — Six people — including a 17-year-old mother and her 6-month-old baby — were killed Monday in a shooting at a home in central California, and authorities are searching for at least two suspects, they have sheriff’s officials said.
Deputies responded around 3:30 a.m. to reports of multiple shots fired at the residence in unincorporated Goshen, just east of Visalia, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said.
“In fact, the report said an active shooter was in the area because of the number of shots fired,” Sheriff Mike Boudreaux told reporters.
Deputies found two victims dead in the street and a third person shot at the door of the residence, Boudreaux said.
Three other victims were found inside the home, including a man who was still alive but later died in hospital, he said.
The sheriff said detectives are looking for at least two suspects. They believe there is a link between gangs and crime. The sheriff’s office executed a narcotics-related search warrant at the residence last week, Boudreaux said.
“We also believe this was not a random act of violence. We believe this was a targeted family,” he said.
Two of the victims, the teenage mother and her child, were shot in the head, the sheriff said.
Goshen is a semi-rural community of about 3,000 residents 35 miles (56 kilometers) southeast of Fresno in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley.
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