The six victims killed at a birthday party in Colorado on Sunday were all identified as members of an extended family, according to a local report.
A gunman entered a residence in Colorado Springs early Sunday morning where a family was celebrating the birthdays of three of the members and killed six of the attendees before killing himself. Police responded to the shooting at approximately 12:18 a.m.
The party was held to celebrate the birthdays of 28-year-old Nubia Marquez, her brother Melvin Perez, who would have turned 31 this week, and their mother, Joana Cruz, who was about to turn 54, according to the Gazette.
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Both Perez and Cruz were reportedly killed. While Marquez survived, her other brother, 21-year-old Jose Guttierez, was said to have been killed. Perez’s wife, 32-year-old Mayra Perez, and her sister Sandra Ibarra and brother Jose Ibarra are also reportedly among the dead. Their ages were not immediately available.
The Washington Examiner could not immediately confirm the names of the victims with the Colorado Springs Police Department.
“My mom had always liked celebrating them together,” Marquez said of the birthdays, according to the local outlet. Marquez reportedly left the party around 10 p.m. with her husband, Freddy, who said “everybody was good” at that time.
The suspect, who police said was the boyfriend of one of the female victims, was reportedly in a relationship with Sandra Ibarra. Marquez identified the suspected shooter as “Junior,” describing him as “quiet” and “serious,” and always carrying a gun, the Gazette reported.
“From the officers who responded to the shooting to the investigators still on scene, we are all left incredibly shaken,” Colorado Springs Police Chief Vince Niski said in a statement. “This is something you hope never happens in your own community, in the place that you call home.”
“The tragic shooting in Colorado Springs is devastating, especially as many of us are spending the day celebrating the women in our lives who have made us the people we are today,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a separate statement. “Families torn apart, and at a birthday party no less.”
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The shooting follows another mass shooting in the Colorado city of Boulder, where 10 people were killed at a King Soopers supermarket on March 22.
The Washington Examiner could not immediately reach the Colorado Springs Police Department for additional information.
