‘Whole family’s gone’: Neighbors shocked as NJ man fatally shoots wife and 2 children before turning gun on himself
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
LINDEN, NEW JERSEY: An electrician from New Jersey allegedly shot his wife and their two teenage children dead, before fatally shooting himself, police and neighbors have confirmed. The incident took place in Linden in Union County. The names and ages of the victims of the apparent murder-suicide have not been disclosed. The wife was reportedly a beautician.
In a statement on social media, Linden Police Department wrote after the incident, "At approximately 9:30 am this morning Officers responded to a home on Chatam Pl on reports of a shooting. Officers located two adult victims and a juvenile victim who were pronounced deceased on scene. A second juvenile victim was transported to Newark University Hospital in critical condition. The shooter is believed to be among the deceased, and there is no further threat to the public."
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The couple's son, referred to in the post as the one who was critically injured, initially survived the attack that killed his mother and sister, ABC7 reported. However, he later succumbed to his injuries at University Hospital in Newark, Linden police said.
'They’re a normal family'
The horrific murder-suicide shocked neighbors who said the family had moved into their home in 2007. “They’re a normal family. That’s why it’s impossible to believe,” Angel Montanez, 56, told New York Post. “They go camping every long weekend, with a trailer they hook up to their car. They recently renovated their kitchen and he invited me over to show it to me.”
Montanez recalled how the shooter and he would regularly chat because both of them were electricians. The families even took each other's children to school at times. “You never know what goes on behind closed doors, but I’m still shocked. The whole family’s gone,” he said.
Montanez's wife, Marianela Montanez, 47, took the murdered children to school last week. “Never would have thought when I dropped them off at school last week that that would be the last time I saw them,” Marianela said. “I just can’t believe it. They were normal children. They’d walk the dog, they’d swim in the pool. Now they’re gone, just like that.”
Marianela Montanez spoke to the electrician's dead wife last week. “She was telling me about insurance, expenses, how the kids are graduating this year, the middle school prom — regular stuff you talk about,” she said. “She didn’t say anything about any problems.”
'I never heard any fights'
Another neighbor, Digna Alvarez, said the father was kind and always ready to help. She added that she never heard any fighting in their home. “Every day we talked to him when he came home from work. He was an electrician. He helped with the electricity in our house. He was a very nice person, I don’t know what happened to him,” the 76-year-old said. “And the kids, beautiful kids. I never heard any fights, nothing.”
Alvarez told ABC7 that she heard a child screaming when she was home with her sister-in-law. "She heard somebody was screaming, but she was thinking someone was playing with the dog, and then no more," Alvarez said.
Alvarez's husband, Jose Alvarez, 83, said he spoke to the father very recently. He speculated that the father may have had some sort of mental breakdown. “We were just talking yesterday,” Jose said. “He was telling me he was going in for an operation with his knee soon. Just a normal conversation… Maybe he just went crazy. I can’t think of any other explanation.”
On Facebook, Linden Mayor Derek Armstead wrote, "This morning Linden suffered another tragedy. 2 adults and 1 child are dead by gunshot. A child is in the hospital in critical condition. The shooter is believed to be among the deceased. I ask all to please keep all in our prayers. There simply are no words to describe the trauma, heartbreak and sorrow that we are all experiencing. If you know someone suffering from suicidal thoughts, please say something."