Father Kills 3 daughters and a Chaperone Inside Sacramento Church

Father Kills 3 Daughters and a Chaperone Inside Sacramento Church
A Sacramento County Sheriff's Department officer looks on near the crime scene outside a church where a man shot dead four people, including three of his children, before turning the gun on himself, February 28, 2022, in Sacramento, California. Getty images

Five people, including three kids and a chaperone, were killed Monday evening when a father shot three of his children and another person at a church in Sacramento, California, local authorities said. After the shooting of four people, David Mora Rojas, 39, killed himself.

The shooting happened inside The Church in Sacramento at around 5 PM local time. The victims were identified as Samantha Mora Gutierrez, 10; Samarah Mora Gutierrez, 9; Samia Mora Gutierrez, 13; and Nathaniel Kong, 59, CBS Sacramento reported.

According to the police, Kong, associated with the church, was escorting the children during a supervised visit with his father, who had a restraining order by his estranged girlfriend. Records show that Kong had been an executive in the church, and that he served Mora the restraining order in May

A case of domestic violence

David Fidel Mora-Rojas was under a restraining order and was not supposed to have a gun because of the restraining order against him from his wife. He was also on a supervised visit with his three children at the church that Monday afternoon.

Mora was out on bail at the time of the killings as he was also arrested last week on several charges, including assaulting a police officer.

The court documents revealed that Mora verbally and physically abused mora's estranged girlfriend and the mother of the three children.

On the woman's request for a restraining order, she said that Mora threatened to kill her if he ever caught her cheating.

She also told her that he had not killed her yet because "he would not know where to go with the children."

The mother said she did not want to return home for fear that Mora would hurt her.

The shootings happened at around 5:10 PM on Monday

An employee at the church who heard the gunshots upstairs called 911, alerting emergency responders.

The court imposed a five-year restraining order on Mora last May 19. The court order said that Mora only had daughters' visits with a mutually agreed-upon chaperone for up to four hours per week. He was also required to take anger management courses.

In trouble with the law

He was also taken into custody for mental health evaluation on April 17. Nine days later, the court issued a temporary restraining order. Mora was arrested in Merced County for DUI, battery against a police officer, and obstructing/resisting a public officer charges on February 22, 2022. he posted bail on February 24.

Sgt. Rod Grassman from the city's sheriff's office said he was unsure if the family belonged to the church.

Investigators believed that the shooting happened during the supervised visit for the father with the children and the chaperone. The policed are trying to determine Mora's motive for killing the girls and how he got the weapon for the shooting. Police added that Mora was barred from possessing a gun under California law due to the restraining order.

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