Man Shoots Wife and Self, Police Report : Violence: They say the husband had been released earlier as non-dangerous after a psychiatric evaluation that followed threats.

A 34-year-old man released by police three days ago after a psychiatric assessment concluded that he was not dangerous shot his estranged wife in the head Wednesday, then turned the gun on himself, police said.

Maria Chavez, 29, was in critical condition at UCI Medical Center in Orange following the 9:37 a.m. shooting at her apartment in the 400 block of East Truslow Avenue, Sgt. Danny Becerra said.

Jose Chavez of Anaheim was coherent and making statements at the scene despite his own head wound, police said. He was later reported in serious condition at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton.

On Monday, police said, they received two separate reports that Jose Chavez was talking about killing his wife and her boyfriend. Officers took him to the police station for a psychiatric evaluation by the Charter Mobile Assessment Team, one of several private providers used by the Fullerton Police Department for evaluation, authorities said.

Sandra Sellani, spokeswoman for Charter Behavioral Health System of Southern California of Mission Viejo, the parent organization, said she could not discuss specifics of the case, but that typically, a registered nurse with a psychiatric background responds to a police station or emergency room within half an hour of a request.

The decision whether to hospitalize a person, Sellani said, depends upon whether there is “imminent danger that they will act on either suicidal or homicidal impulses at the time of the assessment.”

Charter determined that Chavez did not meet these criteria, police said. Charter referred him to outpatient counseling and made an appointment for him for later Monday. Police don’t know if he kept the appointment.

Deciding whether to hospitalize someone “is, in a sense, a judgment call by the person making the assessment,” Sellani said. “At the same time, the assessment is based on criteria established by the county. . . . The county is very specific in their guidelines, and limit our actions in what we can and cannot do. We’re as precise as the law allows us to be. We do everything we can within the powers given us by the county.”

Police Sgt. Glenn Deveny said the evaluation process is “the best resource we have. They help more than they hinder. . . . There’s no hole in the system.”

Police said Chavez had gone to his estranged wife’s apartment Monday morning to take one of his daughters to Acacia Elementary School. At the school, he had made threats against his wife and her boyfriend.

“He was talking weird,” Deveny said, “making all kinds of threats. He said he was separated and despondent, that he felt it was his duty to kill his wife and kill her boyfriend.”

Chavez was taken to a DARE police officer at the school, who called for assistance. Chavez was not armed, police said, but he was taken to the station for evaluation.

Later Monday, a man who identified himself as Maria Chavez’s boyfriend also called police to report threats by Chavez against him. Police took a report over the phone, Deveny said.

When Chavez returned to his wife’s apartment with a semi-automatic handgun, their four children and her mother were present, police said. One of the children dialed 911 for help.

Police found Jose Chavez outside the apartment when they arrived. Becerra said he told police he had shot his wife. A handgun was found inside the apartment, Becerra said.

Police said that their investigation continues and that as yet no charges have been filed.

Maria and Jose Chavez have been married six to seven years and have been separated for six months.