Woman jumped fence to get away from suspect in San Jose murder-suicide at home on Habbitts Court
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- One of the survivors of the murder-suicide in San Jose that killed five family members, including the suspect, escaped by running into her neighbor's home.
According to a neighbor who lives next door to the suspect, during the shooting, the wife of the suspect jumped their shared fence, ran inside his home and hid in his five-year-old son's bedroom.
"I accidentally left the sliding door open," the neighbor, whose name is Alan, told reporters Monday. "Then, the wife jumped the fence and ran into my house and she locked the door in my kid's room while we were in the master bedroom."
Alan said he heard five or six gunshots from the home next door. He did not speak to the suspect's wife but said when he went outside to lock his door, he saw the suspect looking for her.
"She didn't talk to me or anything," he said. "I was kind of upset because what are you doing running in this house? You shouldn't be, because I have a five-year-old and she knows that."
The standoff started around 8:40 Sunday night. San Jose Police say the suspect's wife, daughter and niece escaped their home unharmed. Police then entered the suspect's home to try to save the other victims.
"They saw that at least one of the victims was moving and they figured they needed to go in there and do something," Sgt. Enrique Garcia with the San Jose Police Department said.
A man and a woman were taken to the hospital where they died. Two other female victims were later found inside the home.
RELATED: 3 women, 2 men dead after murder-suicide shooting in San Jose, Calif. on Habitts Court, police say
"There was no documented history of domestic violence between the suspect and family members," Sgt. Garcia said. "Detectives are not certain what caused the suspect to shoot his family members."
Police say the suspect used a handgun and was found in his side yard.
Neighbors describe the family as seeming relatively normal. Alan said he didn't know the suspect very well, but called him a "very nice guy."
"He's a fisherman," Alan said. "When I come home from work he always says hi to me and I say hi to him. Whenever he goes fishing, he catches fish and then he'll come by and drop it off."
