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California man kills 3 daughters, chaperone during supervised visit, police say

March 1 (UPI) -- A California man shot and killed three of his children and a fourth person during a supervised custodial visit at a church in Sacramento on Monday night, authorities said.

The 39-year-old shooter was under an active restraining order from the mother of the children at the time of the visit, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones told reporters. The fourth person was the chaperone supervising the visit.

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The man killed his three daughters -- aged 13, 10 and 9 -- and then killed himself, police said.

"It is not a random act of violence or terrorism," Jones said, according to KCRA-TV. "Rising to the level of killing innocent children is obviously beyond anyone's rational comprehension."

An employee at the church called police after hearing gunshots, Sacramento County Sheriff's Office spokesman Rodney Grassmann said. The shooting was over before deputies arrived, he said.

Authorities hadn't identified the gunman by early Tuesday, but the Sacramento Bee reported that he did not have a criminal record. The mother of the children was not at the church and was unharmed.

"At this point, we don't believe there are any outstanding victims and we don't believe there are any outstanding suspects," he said, according to KCRA-TV.

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"This is an unspeakable tragedy," Mayor Darrell Steinberg said in a tweet. "It happens too often, and tonight it happened in our backyard."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the quadruple murder-suicide "absolutely devastating."

"Another senseless act of gun violence in America -- this time in our backyard. In a church with kids inside," he tweeted. "Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and their communities."

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