Three adults were killed and two others were wounded in a domestic shooting in Woodbridge Sunday morning, according to Prince William County police.
Within six hours of the attack, investigators had tracked the suspect, Anastacio Sanchez-Miranda, 39, to a relative’s house in northeastern Pennsylvania where he was arrested, said Prince William County police spokeswoman 1st Sgt. Kim Chinn.
Authorities believe Sanchez-Miranda, of Dumfries, shot the victims inside a home at 13613 Grandview Ave. in Woodbridge at about 8:30 a.m., then fled to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., in a 1997 black Ford Taurus.
About a dozen people, including five children ages 2 to 7, were in the single-family residence when the suspect opened fire, Chinn said. The intended target, the mother of Sanchez-Miranda’s children, was not wounded, she said. The woman and her three children had stayed overnight at the house after celebrating a birthday party for a 2-year-old.
Prince William County police identified the deceased as Juan Manuel Guevara, 28; Rosario Europa, 24; and Gerardo Lopez-Garcia, 25. They said all three were residents of the house.
Two victims were taken to an area hospital. A 30-year-old man was in critical condition, and an 18-year-old man was in stable condition.
Virginia authorities alerted Wilkes-Barre police that the suspect was headed to his sister’s home. Police went to the home and confirmed the suspect was there. Sanchez-Miranda climbed out a window and onto the roof, but police soon convinced him to surrender.
Prince William County detectives were on their way to Pennsylvania to interview the suspect, said Chinn and authorities were checking on the immigration status of Sanchez-Miranda. Prosecutors were expected to proceed with extradition efforts early next week.
Neighbors on Grandview Avenue told The Examiner that they had noticed that many people lived at the rental home, and most of the men worked in the construction business, but the neighbors had never witnessed any trouble before.
“It was always pretty quiet there,” Wilbert Smith said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
