2 in Family Are Slain; Man Held

A Sylmar man described by neighbors as bad-tempered and “crazy” allegedly opened fire on his teenage daughter and 10-year-old grandson Thursday, killing them both before shooting himself in the head, police said.

The man, in police custody at a local hospital, was expected to survive.

The suspect’s wife--who police said was not home at the time of the attack--called 911 at 1:20 p.m. to report the shootings.

Authorities found the boy sprawled in a bedroom and the young woman, a 19-year-old who is believed to be the child’s aunt, in a bathroom. Both had been shot in the upper body, police said.

“We believe the person responsible is in custody,” said Lt. George Rock of the Los Angeles Police Department. “He’s in stable condition with a gunshot wound to the head. He’s in surgery right now. It looks like he’s going to make it.”

Police initially handcuffed the suspect’s wife at the scene, a single-family home in the 15000 block of La Mesa Street, but they later said she was not a suspect in the slayings.

Authorities declined to release the names of those involved, pending notification of the boy’s parents. The child did not live at the home where he was killed, police said.

Neighbors gathered behind police tape talking about the man they said could often be heard shouting.

“The old man was crazy,” said Rigo Hernandez, 17. “He was always yelling. He was very strict.”

Hernandez recalled a night several years ago when, he said, the man burst outside, screamed at a cluster of youths who were playing music and “pulled out a shotgun and fired into the air.”

One neighbor said the man often berated his grandson: “Anything that little kid did, the man was always yelling at him.”

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Times staff writers Michael Krikorian and Kristina Sauerwein contributed to this story.