CHULA VISTA, Calif. — An elderly man who was being evicted from an apartment complex for senior citizens shot and killed three people there before committing suicide, police said.
Shots were fired at the Congregational Tower at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and officers were fired upon as they arrived at the scene, said police Sgt. David Eisenberg.
Officers found the bodies of a woman and a man inside the building's lobby. Two other bodies were found on the upper floors.
Eugene Molter, 68, was found with a gun in his hand and an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
The other victims were identified as resident Ariel Ibarra, 72, and complex managers Patricia Carignan, 60, and her husband Albert Carignan, 65, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
One officer suffered minor injuries, but police declined to say how he was wounded.
Assistant manager Shiloh Haines told the newspaper that Ibarra had filed several complaints against Molter. Ibarra's daughter-in-law said Ibarra had several clashes with Molter, who lived in the apartment below him.
Police Lt. Gary Wedge said Molter's pending eviction may have prompted the shooting spree.
Sylvia Lopez, 63, who lives in the complex with her 66-year-old husband, Roberto, said building managers had recently raised rents by $100 a month, angering residents.
Police sealed off several blocks of the city, located nine miles south of San Diego, during the incident.