Man fatally shoots ex-girlfriend and then himself in Bellflower, hours after she seeks a restraining order, officials say

BELLFLOWER, Calif. (KABC) — A man with a history of domestic violence shot and killed his ex-girlfriend in her Bellflower home, wounded her adult son and then fatally shot himself in the head, officials say.

The victim had filed for a restraining order against her ex at the Whittier courthouse earlier that day. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department says officers have been called to the home 16 times since 2021 for domestic violence incidents — all involving the suspect, the woman and her adult son. Seven of these were only since June of this year.

On Tuesday around 11:30 p.m., officers were called to the home in the 8500 block of Artesia Boulevard for a report of a gunshot victim. They found a 26-year-old man – the victim’s son – with a gunshot wound to the hip.

He told officers he was in his room when the suspect broke into the apartment, entered his room and shot him. The shooter then turned to his ex-girlfriend’s room.

As the wounded son left the apartment, “he heard his mother screaming and a second shot,” the sheriff’s statement said.

Officers were speaking with the 26-year-old outside the apartment when they suddenly heard a single shot fired inside the home, authorities said.

“Officers made a tactical entry into the apartment and located a 54-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to the head, and a 59-year-old man with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” police said. to the Sheriff’s Department.

The woman and suspect were pronounced dead at the scene. The injured son was transported to a hospital in stable condition.

The female victim and the shooter were previously in a relationship, investigators said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact the sheriff’s homicide bureau at (323) 890-5500. Tipsters who prefer to provide information anonymously can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477).