RICE, Texas, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Five members of a family, including three children, were found dead in a home near Rice, Texas, in an apparent murder-suicide, police said.
Tanner said a relative of the victims, a grandfather who lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, drove the 45 miles to the home Sunday after being unable to reach the family by phone for several days, The Dallas Morning News reported Monday.
The victims included two parents, 33-year-old Israel Alvarez, his 33-year-old wife Guadalupe Ronquillo-Ovalle, and their three sons, ages 10, 8 and 4, Navarro County Sheriff Elmer Tanner said.
Each of the five had gunshot wounds to their "upper torso." A single weapon, a .22-caliber semiautomatic long rifle, was recovered at the scene, Tanner said.
"As far as looking for a suspect, what I'm saying at this point in time is that we are concentrating our efforts on the investigation at the residence. We have not seen anything yet that makes us think we need to go outside this location," Tanner said.
"I don't care where you are. Anytime there's five losses of lives in one location, that's shocking and traumatic," the sheriff said. "It doesn't make any difference where you are. It's a horrible, horrible thing to see, witness or be a part of."
Tanner told KXAS-TV, Fort Worth-Dallas, his officers had been called to the home several times before, including previously this month when Alvarez was arrested for simple assault after allegedly shoving Ronquillo-Ovalle during an argument. Alvarez was released after paying a $367 fine.
