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(CNN) - Five people, including three children, died on Saturday in a domestic violence case in the Paradise Hills neighborhood of San Diego, authorities said.
The incident was a "tragic case of domestic violence, murder-suicide," said Lt. Matt Dobbs of the San Diego homicide unit.
One of the victims, a 29-year-old woman, received a restraining order on Friday, Dobbs said. Police do not know if the restraining order was enforced, but Dobbs said the alleged gunman may have been aware.
"We think the man came this morning, there was some kind of disagreement and he used a gun and shot his family before shooting himself," Dobbs said.
The first call came to the police at 6:49 am, when a telephone operator heard an argument and they were asking someone to leave, Dobbs said. When the police went to the scene, a relative from the house next door called the police and reported hearing discussions and what sounded like a nail gun.
Once the police arrived, they knocked on the door and got no response. They looked out a window and saw a child on the ground covered in blood. They burst through the window and found "several people down" with apparent gunshot wounds, Dobbs said. A gun was found in the house.
The woman, a 31-year-old man and a 3-year-old boy were found dead at the scene, Dobbs said. Three other children, aged 5, 9 and 11, were taken to the hospital. Two of those children died and another is in critical condition undergoing emergency surgery, although it is not clear which one survived, Dobbs said.
'These are the most difficult calls'
The dead man and woman were the children's parents, authorities said. The mother lived in an annex of a main house, with the children, Dobbs said.
"These are the most difficult calls we can answer," said police chief David Nisleit. "This greatly impacts our officers," some of whom took the children to the ambulance and, themselves, just had children.
For those who suffer domestic violence, Nisleit recommended using the resources that law enforcement provide to victims.
"We know that throughout this county, throughout this city, that there are victims of domestic violence every day," said Nisleit. “For those who might be experiencing family violence, domestic violence has resources. You can call our non-emergency line, the Family Justice Center or if there is an emergency, we ask you to call 911. But do not be afraid to call, that is the first step. We want to prevent the kind of family violence that we unfortunately saw today. ”
