Police search for suspects in a "cartel-style execution" 2:29
(CNN) --
A young mother was running to safety with her 10-month-old son in her arms when both were struck by gunfire during a horrific attack that left six dead in a small central California community, the sheriff said.
Forensic evidence shows that a shooter stood over 16-year-old Alissa Parraz and her son Nycholas and shot them both in the head, Tulare County Police Chief Mike Boudreaux said during a news conference on Tuesday. Tuesday.
“I know for a fact that this young woman was running for her life,” Boudreaux said.
The teen was fleeing a home where at least two suspects had opened fire in what the sheriff described as a "cartel-like execution."
The other four victims of the attack that occurred this Monday were identified as Marcos Parraz, 19;
Eladio Parraz, 52;
Alissa's grandmother, Rosa Parraz, 72;
and Jennifer Analla, 49, a close friend of a relative who survived the shooting.
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The victims were attacked just before 3:40 am at their home in Goshen, California, a small farming community about 30 miles southeast of Fresno, the sheriff said.
A humanitarian visa is granted to the family of a 27-year-old Colombian mother with terminal cancer in California
“These people were clearly shot in the head, and they were also shot in places where the shooter knew it would cause a quick death,” Boudreaux said Tuesday.
The house was known to police for illegal activities taking place there, Boudreaux said.
“But let me make this very clear: not all the people in that house are gang members.
And not all of these people in this house are drug dealers.
The 16-year-old is an innocent victim.
The grandmother seems to be an innocent victim.
And definitely this 10-month-old child is an innocent victim," Boudreaux added.
Three people survived the shooting by hiding and have been speaking with police, Boudreaux said.
The killings shocked the Goshen community, the sheriff said, but assured residents: “This was not a random act of violence.
This was a targeted, very specific act of violence.
So I don't want the community to be scared or worried."
The shooting is one of 32 mass shootings in the US so far this year, according to the Archive of Gun Violence.
The organization and CNN define a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot, excluding the shooter.
As of Tuesday, 17 children ages 11 and younger have been shot so far this year, while 24 have been wounded, according to the file.
In this image released by the Tulare County Sheriff's Office, detectives investigate a shooting in Goshen, California, that occurred early Monday morning.
California authorities are looking for at least two suspects and have already offered a $10,000 reward for any information that could lead to their arrest.
Boudreaux asked local businesses and homes to share any surveillance video their cameras may have captured between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. local time on Monday.
Three survivors hid when they heard shots
Investigators have already collected hundreds of pieces of evidence from the crime scene, Boudreaux said during Tuesday's press conference, adding that detectives are working around the clock on forensic analysis.
The three people who survived the shooting are giving key details to authorities, he said.
One survivor described hearing gunshots in the house while lying in a room, so he pushed his feet against the door to hold it closed, Boudreaux said.
He heard at least one of the shooters rattling the doorknob before walking away.
“I was in such a state of terror that all I could do was hold the door, hoping I wasn't the next victim,” Boudreaux said.
The other two survivors hid in a nearby trailer.
One of the victims was shot in the doorway of the trailer, Boudreaux added.
"Fortunately, the two suspects in this case never got into that trailer... So we have three surviving victims, who are providing a great deal of information," Boudreaux said.
As authorities collect evidence, they can't reveal everything they know because the suspects could be watching, the sheriff said.
“We will be slow, methodical, precise… we will make sure that when we do these arrests and this investigation for the victims, people are brought to justice,” Boudreaux added.
A drug warrant was issued days before the shooting
About two weeks before the shooting, deputies with the Tulare County Sheriff's Office found bullet casings outside the home in question while attempting to conduct a probation compliance check, the office said in a news release sent via email to CNN.
It was last January 3.
Conditional sentence compliance checks are carried out by law enforcement to make sure they are following the law, Boudreaux explained.
At that moment, the agents asked to enter the house, but no one opened it.
The agents returned with a warrant and found marijuana, methamphetamine, weapons and bulletproof vests, according to the news release.
Eladio Parraz, one of the victims of the shooting, was then arrested for being a felon in possession of ammunition, firearms and controlled substances, the sheriff's office said.
He was released on bail four days later, according to the statement.
CNN's Elizabeth Joseph, Holly Yan and Stella Chan contributed to this report.
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