A woman thought to be the mother of the boys killed in the fire was comforted by police when she arrived on the scene. — John Gibbins

The inside of the garage held a ping pong table, FoosBall table and lots of kids toys and drawings on the wall. — John Gibbins

Xochitl Rouston, mother of the best friend of one of two boys found killed inside of their Bonita home by their father, looked toward the house on Bonita Verde Street. — John Gibbins

Thomas Fuchs, 49, killed his sons before taking his life, police say.

A man fatally shot his two teenage sons, set their Chula Vista home on fire and turned the gun on himself Tuesday morning – the third time in a month that children in the region have been victims of a murder-suicide, authorities said.

Suicide notes at the home indicated that Thomas Fuchs, 49, planned the deaths, Chula Vista police Lt. Lon Turner said.

He identified Fuchs’ sons as Sean, 15, and Kyle, 13.

Kyle was in 7th grade at Bonita Vista Middle School in Chula Vista, and Sean was a student at High Tech High School in Chula Vista.

The blaze at the yellow single-story home on Bonita Verde Drive off Sweetwater Road in the Bonita Verde Estates was reported just after 1:30 a.m., Turner said. The fire was started in several places throughout the ranch-style house that sits on a quiet cul-de-sac, Turner said.

Firefighters put the flames out quickly and then discovered the body of the man in a hallway and the bodies of two teens in their bedrooms. All three died from gunshot wounds, Turner said.

The mother of the boys, Maria Pe, arrived about 8:20 a.m. and talked to police for a few moments before she was heard screaming in anguish, and then exclaiming “No, no, no!” before collapsing on the ground.

She was driven away in a police vehicle.

California State Bar records show that Fuchs was an inactive member of the bar, as is Pe, his ex-wife. The bar records show that Fuchs attended Fordham University in New York and the University of California, Hastings, law school. He was admitted to the bar in 1990.

Bonita Vista’s principal, Bernard Balanay, described Kyle as a straight-A student who was taking accelerated classes.

“He was well-liked,” Balanay said. “His teachers said he was quiet, pretty reserved for most of the year, but later, his humor started coming out.”

Balanay said Sean had also attended the middle school and took part in the competitive Knowledge Bowl for two years.

“It ran in the family as far as being bright,” Balanay said. “We want to remember them as the successful students they were.”

Friends of the two boys organized a candlelight vigil Tuesday evening in front of the Fuchs home.

Neighbor Pat Valdivia described Fuchs and his sons as the “perfect dad and sons.” He said the boys were always outside playing basketball and football, and that they frequently had friends over.

Valdivia said the mother did not live at the house.

Another neighbor, 20-year-old Rebecca Coe, said she saw the father and sons playing basketball outside on Monday. Coe said she never saw any signs of trouble at the house where childhood art with the boys’ names was displayed on the walls of the garage above a ping pong table.

Xochitl Rouston, whose son has known Sean since kindergarten, said the brothers were great boys who were very smart. She described Fuchs as a good man and the mother as a nice woman. Rouston said they were the only family with whom she would let her son spend the night.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for the house Tuesday afternoon and began collecting evidence.

This is the fourth murder-suicide in San Diego County since January and the third since late May where children were killed.

The first case occurred on New Year’s Day in Santee, where 60-year-old Michael Cour shot himself after fatally shooting his wife, Janice Gervais, 70, and setting fire to their home. Both were unemployed teachers who were bankrupt and being evicted from their home due to foreclosure. Cour sent his estranged stepsister a letter saying they had nothing to live for, officials said.

The second case was reported May 24 in Skyline where police believe that Alfredo Pimienta, 44, and his wife, Georgina, 38, planned their deaths and the deaths of their daughters, Priscilla, 17, and sister Emily, 9. The father and daughters were found dead in the backyard swimming pool and the body of the mother was found in a bathtub.

One week later a woman and her two children were found dead in their Chula Vista apartment. Investigators believe that Mary Catherine Alvarez, 41, her daughter, Anjelica, 12, and son Hamid, 11, were strangled by estranged boyfriend Alfredo Almonte, 37. He later killed himself by jumping off a freeway overpass in Spring Valley.

Last week, police arrested Lakeside resident Timothy Danielson, 63, after he allegedly shot and killed his ex-wife, Ming Qi, 48. then tried to take his own life with carbon monoxide poisoning. He has since pleaded not guilty to a murder charge.

Turner called Tuesday’s murder-suicide an “absolute tragedy.”

“It’s unfathomable to think someone could kill their children,” the lieutenant said.

He urged people to reach out if they think that someone is in distress.

“At the end of the day there is help for people,” Turner said.

Police have not disclosed what the suicide notes said or Fuchs’ possible motive.