Colorado birthday party gunman killed six family members because he wasn’t invited
The gunman who shot dead six members of his family at a birthday party before killing himself did so because he wasn’t invited to the celebration.
Teodoro Macias, 28, slaughtered his girlfriend and five of her relatives at a party hosted by her mother in Colorado Springs, on Sunday evening. Macias, who went by the name ‘Junior’, embarked on the killing spree because he was upset at not being invited to the gathering, Colorado Springs Police have said.
Macias was identified as the shooter on Tuesday and was in a relationship with Sandra Ibarra, who was one of the victims of the massacre.
Melvin Perez, 30; Melvin’s wife Mayra Perez, 32; Mayra’s brother Jose Ibarra; Jose Gutierrez, 21; and Jose’s mother Joana Cruz, 53, also died when Macias opened fire at Joana’s mobile home. Macias then killed himself before police arrived.
Three children aged two, five and 11, were also in attendance at the party but were unharmed.
Police say they recovered 17 empty shells at the scene and added that Macias was armed with two 15-round magazines.
Investigators believe Macias, who had been in a relationship with Sandra for about a year, had a history of controlling and jealous behavior.
Police chief, Vince Niski, said that ‘at the core of this horrific act is domestic violence’, adding that the gunman had ‘displayed power and control issues’ in the past.
About a week before the shooting, there was another family gathering where there ‘was some sort of conflict’ between the family and Macias, Mr Niski added.
The shooting, which happened just after midnight on Sunday, is the fourth deadliest mass shooting in Colorado’s history.
According to police, officers responded to reports of a shooting at a mobile home to find six people dead, including the suspected shooter, and a man with serious injuries who later died at a hospital.
The shooter, Macias, apparently drove to the trailer where a birthday party was being held with friends and family. When inside the trailer, he began shooting party attendees in front of horrified children before taking his own life, police said in a statement.
Investigators say they do not know how Macias got the weapon, which police described as a Smith & Wesson handgun that was originally purchased by someone else in 2014. The weapon was bought locally and had not been reported stolen.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis has called the incident a ‘terrible act of violence’. He said the murders, on Mother’s Day, occurred as ‘many of us are spending the day celebrating the women in our lives who have made us the people we are today’.
‘Families torn apart, and at a birthday party, no less,’ he said.
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