Police reveal that the man who opened fire at a birthday party at a home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, murdered his girlfriend and five of her family members before killing himself, as he was upset over not being invited to the event.
The suspect, Teodoro Macias, 28, was controlling and jealous toward his girlfriend, Sandra Ibarra-Perez, 28. They had been dating for a year.
The other victims were identified as Sandra’s brother Jose Ibarra, 26, her sister Mayra Ibarra de Perez, 33, Mayra’s husband, Melvin Perez, 30, Melvin’s mother, Joana Cruz, 52, and another of Joana’s children, Jose Gutierrez, 21.
“At the core of this horrendous act is domestic violence,” Colorado Springs Police Chief Vince Niski said in a statement at a press conference. “No family should ever have to experience this type of loss.”
Lt. Joe Frabbiele also revealed how the suspect did not have a criminal history and how the suspect’s controlling behavior over Ibarra-Perez was clear in his attempts to “isolate her from her family” and “prevent her from attending family events.”
And while police are still investigating the circumstances leading up to this incident, they have learned that the suspect and the family had some kind of conflict at another gathering a week before the shooting.
Last Sunday, Macias arrived at the home alone and shot all six victims “in quick succession” before shooting himself.
A loaded semiautomatic handgun was recovered underneath his body, along with 17 shell casings and an empty 15-round magazine.
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Frabbiele said the firearm was purchased at a local gun store in 2014 by someone else. It is unclear when Macias obtained the firearm.
Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers called the shooting a “terrible tragedy,” saying that it was “a stark reminder how lethal domestic violence incidents can be.”
“What we have here is a situation where all these people were together. He apparently had anger directed at the adults and his partner, and the tragic consequences are unfathomable,” Suthers said.
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