FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — The neighbor of the sole survivor of an apparent murder-suicide in California's Central Valley said the man pounded on his door and asked for help before the woman who appears to have stabbed him tried to drag him back outside.
Authorities Monday still had not released the names of the man and woman and two children who were killed Sunday morning in a Fresno apartment complex. The coroner's office said the names would be released by police later in the day.
Jesus Gonzalez told KFSN-TV, an ABC affiliate in Fresno, that shortly before 7 a.m. on Sunday he heard gunshots and then a pounding on his door. He opened the door to find his neighbor bleeding profusely.
"I opened the door and he fell in front of me, and I take him and I pull him inside," Gonzalez said. He said that before he could drag the man inside, the woman believed to be the main suspect tried to pull him back outside again.
Gonzalez said he shouted at her, "Hey, what happened, what happened?" and she ran off.
When police arrived at the Silver Lakes Apartments shortly thereafter, officers found the man outside with a stab wound. He told police that his wife, who was actually his live-in girlfriend, was inside causing a disturbance, Fresno police. Lt. Mark Salazar said.
Before officers entered the apartment, they heard a gunshot and hurried inside.
They found four people killed inside, including a woman believed to be in her 20s with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and a man in his 20s or 30s dead of a gunshot wound. Also inside were the bodies of an 18-month-old and a 3-year-old child, believed to be the woman's children.
The stabbing victim was taken to a hospital and was in critical condition. Hospital officials on Monday said they could not release any details about the victim until the police had identified him.
The family lived in the back of the gated apartment complex, which has neat lawns, trees and a children's playground.
Neighbors said there was no indication of violence between the couple before Sunday's shootings.
"They would come out with the baby carriage, and the man was taking care of his children," neighbor Eric Gonzalez said.
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