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Four people dead in California, including shooter

Friday, 01 January 2016 9:38 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 04 January 2016 12:10 PM ]

Deputies and firefighter-paramedics responded to a quadruple shooting in Rowland Heights on Dec. 31, 2015.

Four people have died in a shooting incident in Los Angeles County, California on New Year's Eve, sheriff’s officials say.

The shooting took place at 8:38 p.m. Thursday in the 2200 block of Batson Avenue in Rowland Heights, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Walnut station.

Officers responding to a shooting arrived at the scene to find four dead people, two men, aged 27 and 54, and two women aged 48 and 54, authorities said.

The 54-year-old male, who was the shooter in the incident, shot the others with a semi-automatic handgun. The man was later shot dead by his son who wrestled the gun away from him.

The shooter’s 33-year-old son "was able to wrestle the gun away from his father and shot him one time, killing him," a sheriff's statement said.

Officers arrested the son and booked him at Walnut Station.

Police have not released the names of the victims and any other details pertaining to the incident. The motive for the incident is also unclear, but the investigation is still underway.

The shooting happened a day before US President Barack Obama said he would meet with US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who heads the Justice Department, to discuss ways of reducing gun violence in the country.

"A few months ago, I directed my team at the White House to look into any new actions I can take to help reduce gun violence," Obama said in his weekly radio address on Friday. "And on Monday, I'll meet with our attorney general, Loretta Lynch, to discuss our options."

The Republican-controlled Congress has snubbed previous efforts of the Obama administration to tighten gun laws.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), firearms are the cause of death for more than 33,000 people in the United States every year, a number that includes accidental discharge, murder and suicides.

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