A gunman shot and killed two of his adult relatives Saturday at a cemetery in Ontario, California, before turning the gun on himself, authorities said. The shooter was 71 and his victims were 59 and 60-years-old.

Reports of the shooting came in just after 3:00 p.m., according to the Ontario Police Department.

When police officers arrived on the scene, they found three people in close proximity of one another, each of whom had been shot. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.

According to what witnesses told the authorities, the gunman was at the cemetery, seated in his car, when three of his family members, a man and two women, arrived in a separate car. The witnesses added that he was “laid back a bit” in his car.

KTLA reports:

“The arriving relatives, including an elderly woman using a walker, exited their vehicle and approached a grave site. The suspect, armed with a handgun, then exited his car and walked toward the the victims. He quickly shot one and then the other before shooting himself, leaving the woman with the walker unharmed.”

“You couldn’t tell where the shots were coming from,” an unidentified woman told KTLA. “Everybody was running (in) different directions. By the time you know it, we got in the the car and we left.”

The victims and the gunman were all related by marriage, the Police Department said.

The gunman has been identified as Karapet Kalajian, 71, of Ontario. Klajian allegedly killed his deceased wife’s sister and brother-in-law before killing himself at the Ontario cemetery Saturday.

The victims have been identified as 60-year-old Misak Minasyan and 59-year old Hripsime Minasyan.

Investigators are now attempting to determine the shooter’s motivation for killing his relatives. However, Ontario police say Kalajian had difficulty dealing with the death of his wife and had become estranged from the family for more than a year.

Detectives discovered that Kalajian’s wife was buried at the Bellevue Cemetery after she died in 2011. In a twist to the story, the anniversary date of her death is Jan. 3rd.

“Obviously he knew that they were coming here this day. It was probably a significant date,” police Sgt. Jeff Higbee said.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever heard of that happening,” he said.

Video via KTLA:



Image: Screen grab.