Two people dead after apparent domestic-violence murder-suicide in Fresno, CHP says

California Highway Patrol officers are investigating what they say is likely a domestic-violence murder suicide after two drivers died of gunshot wounds Saturday night.

Investigators said the suspect, a 30-year-old man, allegedly shot his girlfriend’s 28-year-old sister while she was in the driver’s seat of her vehicle on the shoulder of Highway 41 in central Fresno. The suspect later died by suicide in his own car while Fresno police officers conducted a traffic stop on an off-ramp, CHP reported.

Names of those killed have not been released as officers worked to notify their families.

The suspect and his girlfriend, who have six children together, have a history of domestic violence, officers reported. They previously lived in the Fresno area but recently lived in Squaw Valley. Investigators believe they were in the process of separating.

Earlier Saturday evening, before the two deaths, the girlfriend reported to law enforcement that her boyfriend threatened to kill her. Meanwhile, the suspect drove into Fresno and went to the girlfriend’s family’s home in central Fresno. While there, he fired his gun into an occupied vehicle. No one was injured in that shooting, CHP Sgt. Mark Steadman said.

As the suspect left the scene, his girlfriend and her sister drove off in a separate car. The girlfriend’s sister was the driver.

CHP Sgt. Mike Salas, in an update, reported that while the suspect was southbound on Highway 41 about 10 p.m., he identified the car carrying the women. He was able to persuade the women to pull off south of Ashlan Avenue, and he stopped and stepped out of his car while brandishing a handgun. The women attempted to speed away, and the suspect fired multiple rounds from the gun, striking the driver at least once.

As the women’s car careened up the freeway embankment, the suspect fled in his car. The girlfriend called for help, telling a dispatcher that her sister had been shot. The sister was pronounced dead at Community Regional Medical Center.

About 40 minutes later, Fresno police spotted the suspect vehicle headed north on Highway 41. The suspect pulled over on the off-ramp of Bullard Avenue. As the officer approached, the man shot himself, according to the CHP.

Police followed the precautions for a felony traffic stop, using a drone and police dog to check on the suspect. He later was pronounced dead at Community Regional Medical Center after emergency medical technicians treated him at the scene.

Steadman, of the CHP, said the suspect told the girlfriend he wanted to kill her on Sunday, her birthday, so she would leave this world the same day she entered.

“In any case, sadly, two people died tonight,” Steadman said.