Oklahoma City homicide detectives are investigating an incident in which a man shot and killed his ex-wife, and their three children, and then killed himself Wednesday night.
Police officers moved to a home in northwest Oklahoma City after a family member discovered all five people had suffered gunshot wounds, Oklahoma City authorities said in a news release.
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The attacker, who police identified as 28-year-old Ruben Armendariz, and a child were alive when officers arrived and were taken to the hospital, but died shortly after.
Two children and a woman were pronounced dead at the scene, according to authorities.
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"That family member reported that when he arrived, he found several of his relatives dead in the house," Capt. Valerie Littlejohn of the Oklahoma City Police Department said, according to FOX 23. "It looks like it was a murder-suicide attempt," Littlejohn said.
Police identified the victims as Cassandra Flores, 29; Hillary Armendariz, 9; Damaris Armendariz, 5 and Matias Armendariz, 2.
According to authorities, Ruben Armendariz, 28, shot and killed Cassie Flores, 29, at her Oklahoma City home Wednesday night.
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He then shot his three children, Hillary, Damaris, and Matias, before shooting himself around 11 p.m.
According to USA Today, the couple had been married but had separated, though it's unclear if Armendariz was living with his wife and children at the time.
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"The investigation is at a very early stage, detectives are trying to piece together the chain of events that triggered the massacre," police said.
The Daily Mail reports that Flores' sister, Rocío, posted photos of her loved ones online, writing, "I can't believe it. My babies and my sister. They're all gone, it looks like a nightmare."
"I couldn't say goodbye to them and I feel a guilt in my heart that I can't bear. God is with us and will never abandon us. Fly high, my babies, fly high, my precious angels," she wrote.