Indian kills two kids before killing self

A housewarming ceremony turned tragic when an Indian engineer hailing from Tamil Nadu went on a shooting rampage, killing two of his children including an infant and three other visiting relatives before he turned the gun on himself at his home in a posh Silicon Valley neighbourhood in California.

The lone survivor of the "horrific" incident in the Santa Clara area on the night of March 29 was the wife of the US-based 42-year-old man who escaped with multiple gunshot wounds and collapsed in a pool of blood outside her home. She is fighting for her life at a local hospital, police said.

All the six victims killed hailed from Ayyankolli near Gudalur,110 km from Udhagamandalam in the Niligiri district.

Sources close to the family of Ashokan, a software professional, who was one of the victims, said he along with his wife Suchitra (30) and daughter Akhila (10) were in California to attend the housewarming ceremony of his sister Abha (28) on the night of March 29.

As Ashokan reportedly made some adverse comments on the construction of the house, an enraged Devaraj, Abha's husband, shot all members of the family with a gun before killing himself, they said. Suchitra and Akhila were also gunned down.

Devaraj's 11-month old son Akhil and daughter Sneha (5) also fell to the bullets. Abha has been hospitalised in a serious condition, the sources said.

Ashokan's parents -- Appu Master and Devaki -- received the news about the tragedy shortly after the incident. They refused to talk to the press.

Police said a neighbour of the Devraj family called 911 at around 8:30 pm Sunday to report an injured woman outside a house on Headen Way in the high-end neighbourhood of Rivermark.

Police arrived to find five bodies in the house, all shot dead. The suspected gunman was dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, local media reports said. "There's no way to describe it other than horrific," Lt Phil Cooke of the Santa Clara Police was quoted as saying.

The youngest victim was an 11-month-old girl who was alive when police came but later died at a hospital.

Investigators said the man lived at the recently rented house with his wife and two children. "We've been working with the Indian Consulate office in San Francisco," Lt Cooke said.

Investigators was yet to ascertain the motive but said financial issues did not appear to be a factor.

"It's devastating for everybody involved, the victims, the community and the first responders," said Cpt Mike Sellers. "Some of our officers performed CPR on the girl who was around four years old, but she was pronounced dead."

Sellers said he did not believe the suspect left a suicide note. The man was said to be an engineer at Yahoo who had also worked at Microsoft.

Residents of the upscale community of Rivermark, where the shootings occurred, were horrified.

"I can't imagine someone shooting little children. It's awful," neighbour Ivy Hopkins told San Francisco Chronicle.

Two handguns were found inside the residence, but police are awaiting the results of ballistics tests before determining whether one or both weapons were used.