Man Kills Family of 4, Self

Authorities who stormed an Inglewood home Monday seeking a despondent man who they believed was barricaded inside discovered the bodies of three adults and two children in what police are investigating as a murder-suicide.

Detectives are still trying to determine what happened but said the suspected gunman had been distraught with financial problems and that the victims were family members. Neither the victims nor the gunman was identified.

The man’s wife called the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department about 5:30 a.m. to report that her husband had left their Lennox neighborhood home upset and armed with a handgun.

Deputies traced the man’s car to a home in the 3600 block of West 110th Street in Inglewood. They found the front door slightly ajar, Sheriff’s Sgt. Stacey Shire said.

Authorities surrounded the house, evacuated neighbors and tried without success for two hours to communicate with anyone who might be inside, Shire said. They tried calling the phone number, but it was disconnected.

They also called a cellphone belonging to the residents as well as work numbers but were unsuccessful.

“We pretty much covered all the bases,” Shire said.

About 1:40 p.m., members of the sheriff’s special enforcement bureau rushed into the home. They found the four residents -- a man, woman and two girls under the age of 10 -- dead in their beds. The suspected gunman was found dead with what detectives believe was a self-inflected gunshot.

Authorities would not say how the other victims were killed.

Inglewood Police Sgt. Gabriela Garcia said the woman was believed to be the gunman’s sister-in-law and the man was her husband.

Residents said the family moved into the neighborhood about a year ago and completely renovated the house. Few said they knew anything about the family.

Raymundo Salgado said the girls often played in the backyard or in a treehouse. The house was in the middle of another renovation, with a cement mixer in the backyard.

Salgado, 49, said that he was watching television about 4 a.m. when he heard what sounded like four rapid shots. He said the fence abutting his home shook with the blasts.

“But you hear gunshots around here every day,” said Salgado, adding that he did not call authorities. “I never saw any arguing over there or heard of any problems.”

The killings occurred in a block of modest one-story homes near Crenshaw Boulevard and Imperial Highway. Residents described the area as working-class.

Times staff writer Jean Guccione contributed to this report.