Shooting at Seniors’ Housing in Chula Vista Leaves 4 Dead

For the third time in little more than a month, gunfire erupted Wednesday in an unlikely setting of suburban San Diego County: this time, in a church-run apartment complex for the elderly.

Police said a six-year resident who was about to be evicted shot and killed three people, exchanged shots with police and then committed suicide. Police found the gunman’s body on an upper floor of the high-rise after a search that took several hours.

As police conducted that search inside and outside the 16-story Congregational Tower, dozens of terrified residents huddled in a recreation room under the protection of officers--a chilling echo of recent scenes after schoolyard shootings in nearby Santee and El Cajon.

The gunman was identified as Eugene Molter, 68. His body was found after SWAT officers, using concussion grenades and tear gas, stormed his apartment. A helicopter had taken police officers to the roof of the building to mount the military-style assault.

Police said Molter shot the complex’s manager and his wife, Albert and Pat Carignan, who were both in their 50s, and a resident with whom Molter had been feuding, Ariel Ibarra, 72.

The victims appeared to have been shot with a 9-millimeter handgun, police said. Two were found dead in the lobby and the third on the 16th floor. Molter was found one floor below.

Police spokesman Lt. Gary Wedge said Molter, described as a thin man with a ponytail, was to have been evicted today after numerous complaints from residents about his combative behavior and loud noise from his apartment. One witness said Molter had been in a heated argument before the shooting.

Soon after the shooting began, residents, some in wheelchairs, were evacuated in a SWAT truck, guarded by police with guns drawn.

“It was like a prison cell in there,” a woman in her 60s said of the three hours in which she and others were trapped inside the building.

“Two people I know are dead,” cried another woman, referring to the Carignans.

In addition to the four dead, a woman in her 60s apparently suffered a heart attack and was taken to a hospital by police who dashed into the building wearing body armor.

The attack began about 2:30 p.m. on the first floor of the building, which serves low-income senior citizens and is run by the adjacent Community Congregational Church.

The shooting of the man in the lobby was captured on a security camera, Wedge said. Molter also fired at a witness who had screamed for help. The witness escaped and called police.

When officers arrived, Molter fired six shots, but no officers were hit, officials said.

As the search continued, police ordered people in nearby office buildings, homes and restaurants to stay inside, including Rep. Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista) and his staff.

Reflecting on the Congregational Tower shooting, and the two recent high school shootings in eastern San Diego County, Filner said, “We’ve got to realize that we’re all vulnerable to violence.

“There are a lot of people out there with rage who, with the easy availability of guns, think it’s all right to begin killing people,” said Filner. “We’ve got to find a way as a society to listen to people, to keep them from feeling like violence is the only answer.”

Chula Vista, population 173,000, is a blue-collar, predominantly Latino community about eight miles south of downtown San Diego. About 220 people live in the 186 apartments in Congregational Tower.

On March 5, a gunman killed two students and wounded 13 others at Santana High School in nearby Santee. Seventeen days later, five people were wounded by gunfire at Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, a few miles away.

In those cases, teenage suspects were arrested within minutes and have been charged with multiple felony counts.

“The problem with this country is too many people are going off their rockers,” said Congregational Tower resident Chuck Levy.

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Times correspondent Paul Levikow contributed to this story.