Gunman Kills 2 Women and Himself

A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy fatally shot two sisters in their parents’ Chatsworth home on Christmas Eve and then killed himself, Los Angeles police said.

The gunman and the younger sister, his estranged girlfriend, were found dead by paramedics in the living room, police said. The older sister was pronounced dead at Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

The sisters were identified by police as Angela Chimienti, 19, and Serafina Chimienti, 25.

The Sheriff’s Department identified the killer as Edward Vizcarra, 31, of Newhall, a deputy from May, 1988 to June, 1995, when he was given a medical retirement for an on-the-job physical injury while working out of the Century City station, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Stoneman.

There was no disciplinary or psychological cause for the separation, Stoneman said, adding “that’s all we know about him.”

Friends and neighbors described the sisters’ father, Saverio Chimienti, as a high-fashion tailor in Beverly Hills.

The three violent deaths stunned the upscale neighborhood along Devonshire Street west of Winnetka Avenue. Anguished friends of the Chimienti family stood briefly outside the police barrier seeking information as police interviewed three family members inside.

About an hour after the shooting, police escorted the other family members into patrol cars. Several weeping teenagers consoled them briefly before the cars drove off.

Neighbors said they believed that Serafina Chimienti interceded in an argument between her sister and the former deputy.

Offering few details of the shooting, police said Tuesday evening that they had not established a motive, though it appeared to be a domestic problem. No other suspects were being sought, they said.

“We are trying to develop the whole picture,” said Sgt. William Guerrero, press relations officer for the LAPD’s Devonshire Division. He described the weapon as a handgun, but declined to say what type or how many shots were fired.

Guerrero said Devonshire officers were sent to the house at 2:50 p.m. to investigate a 911 call from someone who provided no information.

By the time police arrived, Los Angeles City Fire Department paramedics were tending to the three gunshot victims.

“They are a very hard-working family,” said neighbor Jack Fisher, who stood barefoot in a howling wind just before dusk Tuesday, futilely trying to learn what had happened.

Fisher said the girls had been baby-sitters for his son in the past, and that more recently, Angela and her twin sister Cathy had graduated from a school to become medical assistants.

The youngest of the four Chimienti children, Cosimo, about 17, attends a military academy in the San Diego area and had just returned on Christmas break, Fisher said.

Another neighbor, Robin Sterk, said her children had gone to school with the Chimientis.

“Very nice people,” she said tearfully before excusing herself to join the family at the Devonshire station.