Erica Chanon Pantoja.Photo: San Jose Police Department
Six children in California are now orphaned after a double murder-suicide Sunday also claimed the life of a security guard who tried to intervene in what police described as a domestic dispute.
According to a statement from the San Jose Police Department, 29-year-old Erica Chanon Pantoja’s estranged husband, Salvador Pantoja, 33, showed up outside her apartment building early Sunday morning, and the two had an argument in the parking lot.
“The suspect shot the uninvolved male at least one time and then shot the female as well,” reads the San Jose Police statement. “The suspect was found at the scene deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
The statement notes “the motive and circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.”
Maria Chanon, the aunt of the couple’s children,spoke to ABC 7 News, and said they witnessed their mother’s murder.
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“The oldest one who saw the whole incident, she still cries,” Chanon said, adding her sister was planning on divorcing her killer. “She can’t understand why her father would do that.”
Chanon said she believes Duran saved the children — who’re aged 1 to 10 — giving them valuable time to escape the deadly situation.
Meanwhile, the San Jose Police Officers' Association Charitable Foundationhas established a special fundfor the six kids.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
