A New Jersey mother reportedly carried out a murder-suicide, fatally shooting her husband and their two young daughters before turning the weapon on herself, reported NBC.
Andrea Alarcon, 32, fatally shot her 51-year-old husband, Ruben Alarcon, along with their daughters Scarlett, 9, and Emma, 6, and then killed herself, as indicated by the murder weapon found near her body.
The tragic incident occurred in their suburban home on Lincrest Terrace in Union.
Local authorities arrived on the scene to serve an eviction notice around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, where they discovered all four victims dead with gunshot wounds.
Having lived in the home for 15 years, the family supposedly had a 60-day period to vacate the property after losing it in a sheriff's sale for $322,000 held in November.
Union County Prosecutor William Daniel said in a statement, “In tragedies of this magnitude, there are no words that can heal, nor explanations that can serve to make sense of them to the public. Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of these victims and to the Union community as a whole in the wake of this horrible event.”
Union Police Director Christopher Donnelly characterised the family's deaths as "a deeply tragic event that has shaken our community to its core." He expressed condolences, stating, "Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the victims."
As the community copes with the shock, certain neighbours said that they hadn't seen any activity at the Alarcon home for days. One neighbour was surprised, stating that they were unaware of children living in the house.
