Three dead in murder-suicide at senior center in L.A. area

TORRANCE, CA - Three people died Tuesday in what appears to be a double murder-suicide at a senior citizens' high-rise south of Los Angeles, police said.

A man in his 80s apparently shot two women shortly after noon before turning the gun on himself in the lobby of the Golden West Tower apartments in Torrance, said Sgt. Robert Watt.

The victims haven't been identified and the motive is unknown, Watt said. One of the women is believed to have been an employee.

Residents and staff from the senior center told NBC4 that the shooter had been behaving erratically, and many of them were seeking to have him kicked out of the complex.

"People knew that he was a little bit off," Golden Tower employee Alex Galindo told the TV station. "People were warned, but nobody did anything, so I know there's going to be blood on a lot of people's hands. That's all I can say at this point."

Police were trying to obtain surveillance camera recordings, Watt said.

According to the city of Torrance's website, Golden West Towers is a 180-unit, privately owned and operated facility. The low- and moderate-income housing is for seniors who can live independently.

A call to building management wasn't answered Tuesday night and the voicemail box was full.

There have been several murder-suicides at senior centers in Southern California in recent years.

In a shooting last month, investigators suspect 45-year-old Colin McGrattan shot and killed his ex-wife and her two nieces at O'Connor Woods Senior Living center in Stockton before killing himself.

In 2010, 77-year-old Arthur Baar shot and killed his wife Caryl, 72, before turning the gun on himself in Laguna Woods, the south Orange County retirement community formerly known as Leisure World.