Boy, 4, Shot to Death; Father Is Arrested on Suspicion of Murder : Courts: Police trying to determine how the shooting occurred and what preceded it. Glendale man is scheduled for arraignment Tuesday.

A Glendale man was arrested Friday on suspicion of murder after his 4-year-old son was shot to death inside the family’s apartment, possibly during an argument, police said.

Harold Dean Estrada, 32, who works for a delivery service, was arrested without incident outside his apartment in the 1500 block of East Harvard Street, Officer Mario Yagoda said.

Yagoda said investigators were having difficulty determining how the shooting took place. “We’re looking at the possibility of a family argument,” Yagoda said. But he added, “What happened before the actual shooting still hasn’t been determined.”

Officers went to the pink stucco two-story apartment building about 8 a.m., after a screaming woman, later identified as Estrada’s wife, Sandra, telephoned for help.

Inside the second-floor unit, officers found Timothy Flores, who had been shot once in the upper torso with a handgun. The boy was rushed to Glendale Adventist Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, Yagoda said.

Police interviewed, then released, Sandra Estrada, the boy’s stepmother, Yagoda said. He said the boy’s mother, who lives at an undisclosed location, was notified Friday of the shooting.

Harold Estrada was being held without bail Friday in Glendale City Jail on suspicion of murder. He was scheduled for arraignment Tuesday in Glendale Municipal Court.

The shooting took place on a quiet residential street behind the Glendale High School athletic field. The apartment building where the family lived was cordoned off by police through Friday afternoon as investigators searched for evidence.

Inside the Estradas’ apartment, police seized a large-caliber revolver that may have been used in the shooting, Yagoda said.

Armen Momdjian, a jeweler who lives two doors away from the apartment building, said he was one of several neighbors who called police when gunfire shattered the early morning calm.

“First I thought it wasn’t serious, that someone had shot at a wall,” he said. “Then the ambulance came, and I knew someone was hurt.”

Several neighbors said they had only a nodding acquaintance with Harold Estrada. “He wasn’t interested in socializing,” said Dennis Cormier, 20, a flooring worker who lives nearby.