A husband, wife and their two children were found dead Friday in an apparent murder-suicide at a Santa Clarita home, authorities said.

Deputies responded to a call for a welfare check in the 28800 block of Startree Lane, where they found all four people shot in the upper torso, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The victims were discovered “in various locations inside the residence,” said sheriff’s Lt. Rodney Moore.

The man was between 50 and 55 years old, his wife was between 40 and 50 years old, and their adult daughter was in her early 20s, Moore said. The boy was under 13 years old, he said. All four were pronounced dead at the scene.

The names of the victims were not disclosed.


There were no indications of a break-in, Moore added. A handgun was found inside the home.

Moore said he was not aware of any domestic problems between the husband and wife, or any previous emergency calls made to their residence.

The shooting took place in an upscale subdivision of Santa Clarita in the hills above Copper Hill Drive. A large number of deputies were at the scene.

Neighbor Frank Santaella woke up early Friday to the sound of helicopters.


Santaella, who lives across the street from where the shooting occurred, said he did not know the victims.

“You hear it all the time in the news, but when it hits near you…. I would have never, ever believed something like this would happen here,” Santaella, 50, said.

Danielle Avila, 18, said she and the daughter used to be on the track team together at Valencia High School. Avila said the daughter graduated high school in 2016, a year ahead of her.

Avila said she cried as police cars pulled up to her former teammate’s house.


“I was really upset,” she said.

The investigation is ongoing.

sarah.parvini@latimes.com

Twitter: @sarahparvini


michael.livingston@latimes.com

Twitter: @mikelive06

UPDATES:

3:35 p.m.: This article was updated with quotes from a neighbor.


2:15 p.m.: This article was updated with information from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.

1:20 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from a neighbor.

10 a.m.: This article was updated with details about the shooting location.

This article was originally published at 9:40 a.m.