Police say they found two handguns inside this house. They also say the mother was concerned about some Internet communication her daughter was having with another teen in Kentucky, but police don't think the online chat had anything to do with the deaths.
Pleasanton police won't say definitively what they think happened inside the home, but they do want to ease the fears of those who live near where 37-year-old Amy Freeman Burton and her 13-year-old daughter Ainsley Freeman were shot and killed Monday night.
"We do know that there was no forced entry into the home and we have recovered a handgun within the home," Pleasanton Police Lt. Jeff Bretzing said.
The mother and daughter were each shot at least once. They were found by Burton's 28-year-old husband Christopher Burton when he arrived home from work about 6 p.m.
Police say he is not a suspect.
"Christopher has been very cooperative; he was down here for several hours providing a lengthy detailed statement, he discovered the crime, he called 911," Bretzing said.
Ainsley attended Hart Middle School, where she was an accomplished eighth grader, quickly becoming a teacher's aide, after moving to Pleasanton from out of state earlier this year.
"She acclimated herself beautifully and was hanging around with a really nice group of girls and top student, top grades," teacher Erin Vanderzee said.
The district canceled state testing at Hart Tuesday and brought in grief counselors to help the students.
"The best thing we can do today is just listen to students and allow them to share their feelings, and understand that it's natural," Pleasanton Unified School District Superintendent Parvin Ahmadi said.
"It seemed like she became part of the community and the school pretty quickly," Sue McKinley said.
McKinley's grandson attended school with Ainsley. McKinley wondered if she and others could've gotten to know the new family in the neighborhood a bit better.
"I mean you just never know what really anybody's backgrounds is and I think it's just our responsibility to reach out, be friends and be supportive of everyone," she said.
Police say the two handguns found here were both unregistered. The husband told investigators the family got them from his brother in Arizona. One was found near the bodies.
As for the Internet communication Ainsley was having, police say it was with a 16-year-old boy in Kentucky. Police and the FBI checked out the boy and don't think he has anything to do with what happened.
The autopsies for the mother and daughter are scheduled for Wednesday morning.
