4 Killed, 1 Critically Wounded; Residential Robbery Suspected

Four people were shot to death and one was seriously wounded during an apparent robbery early Sunday at a home that had been ransacked, police said.

The dead were identified only as three men and a woman, Sgt. Jim Wallace said.

The wounded victim was a man and was hospitalized in critical condition, police spokesman Bill Robinson said.

“Apparently (the assailants) were looking for something. We don’t know what it was,” Wallace said.

“It appears to be a residential robbery,” Robinson said. “Ransacking is sometimes part of a residential robbery. There’s more that I don’t know.”

Two men and the woman were pronounced dead at the scene and one man died at a local hospital, Wallace said.

Loud Noises, Gunshots

“Witnesses in the neighborhood say they heard loud noises and possible gunshots coming from the residence at 1 a.m,” said Sgt. Hank Olias.

The San Diego County coroner’s office said the victims died of apparent gunshot wounds. The coroner’s office had tentative identifications on two of the victims but declined to release the names.

A neighbor across the street from the house said he saw the survivor stumble onto the front porch calling for help.

“He’s the only one I saw. I heard some gasping inside and I attempted to go inside and see what I could do, but the power had been turned off,” said Gene Johnson. “There was no light, so I didn’t want to go in there in the dark not knowing what I was going to run into, especially after I saw a bullet wound in his stomach.”