By ABC News
A man who fatally shot six people at a Colorado birthday party before killing himself was upset he was not invited to the weekend gathering thrown by his girlfriend’s family, police say.
The shooter, 28-year-old Teodoro Macias, had been in a relationship with one of the victims, 28-year-old Sandra Ibarra, for about a year and had a history of controlling and jealous behaviour, Colorado Springs police Lieutenant Joe Frabbiele said.
The shooting, which happened in a trailer park last weekend, has been labelled a domestic violence incident.
“At the core of this horrific act is domestic violence,” police chief Vince Niski said.
Mr Niski added the gunman had “displayed power and control issues” in the relationship.
He said a week before the shooting there was another family gathering where there “was some sort of conflict” between the family and Mr Macias.
Key points:
- Police say the gunman had “displayed power and control issues” in his relationship with one of the victims
- Police say a week before the shooting there was another family gathering where there “was some sort of conflict” between the family and the killer
- 10 people were inside the home when the gunman arrived
Police said there were no previous reported incidents of domestic violence during the relationship and the shooter did not have a criminal history.
The other victims of the shooting early on Sunday were members of Ms Ibarra’s extended family.
The shooting happened at a home in the Canterbury Mobile Home Park on the east side of Colorado’s second-largest city.
Three children at the party, aged two, five and 11, were not hurt.
Two families were celebrating the birthdays of family members, and 10 people were inside the home when the gunman arrived “and shot all six victims in quick succession” before turning the gun on himself, Lieutenant Frabbiele said.
Three teenagers had left the party just before the shooting.
“One of the smaller children and some of the teenagers lost both parents,” Lieutenant Frabbiele said.
Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers called on the community to remember how lethal domestic violence was.
“In Colorado, we’ve had domestic terrorism incidents where lots of people were killed … but let’s not forget about the lethality of domestic violence,” he said.
“What we have here is a situation where all these people were together and [we] apparently had the anger directed at the adults and his partner.
“And the tragic consequences are unfathomable. We’ve got children orphaned by this situation.”