The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says preliminary findings suggest the shooting deaths of a family of four in Richmond were a murder-suicide.
The four people that died in a shooting at a Richmond home Monday (Jan. 24) evening were related, according to Sgt. David Lee of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT). All were adults including a father age 71, mother age 58, and two adult children ages 23 and 21. The extended family has requested privacy and so the names are not being released.
Final confirmation of whether the incident was a murder-suicide will not be possible until ballistics are analyzed and autopsies are completed.
“Factors leading up to this shooting are still being determined,” said Sgt. David Lee of IHIT. “People are searching for answers and asking if there were signs. We hope to provide more answers in days to come.”
RCMP believe the shooting took place in the 4500-block of Garden City Road on Monday night but were not called to the home until the next day.
A search warrant was executed on Thursday (Jan. 27) that allowed IHIT to further examine the scene in collaboration with the B.C. Coroners Service, the Integrated Forensic Identification Section and the Richmond RCMP.
Lee added this was not a case of intimate partner violence nor was it a gang-related shooting.
All four people are considered victims at this time. One of the victims had a valid firearm possession and acquisition license, as well as access to a firearm.
READ MORE: 4 people found dead in Richmond home following shooting, IHIT says
