Gunman, 83, Kills Wife, Self in Hospital

An 83-year-old man shot and killed his 82-year-old wife inside a hospital here Sunday and then turned the gun on himself, officials said.

The bizarre double shooting happened at Laurel Grove Hospital in Castro Valley, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department said. Sheriff’s officials found both the man and woman slumped in wheelchairs.

She was a patient at Laurel Grove, a rehabilitation center where she was being treated for a hip condition. She also suffered from long-term dementia, the Sheriff’s Department said. The man, who was visiting his wife, was still clutching a handgun when deputies found him. Officials would not release the victims’ names.

Sheriff’s Det. Monte DeCoste said the case was being treated as a murder-suicide. In notes found at the scene, the man said he did not want to be a burden to his family, DeCoste said.

“According to the note, they had talked about this before,” DeCoste said. “He had concerns about his remaining children and being a burden to them and . . . had talked about terminating their lives.”