Monday, August 13, 2012

Police: Mother kills 2 children, then shoots self

Tucson Police Department

Perla Morales, 25, was arrested in the shooting deaths of her two young children.

By James Eng, NBC News

A Tucson, Ariz., woman fatally shot her two young children and then shot herself, police said Sunday.

Perla Morales, 25, survived the shooting. She was arrested and booked into the Pima County Jail on two counts of first-degree murder after her release from the hospital.


The children were identified as Richard Rosovich Jr., 17 months, and Emma Rosovich, 4.

Tucson police responded to a 911 call about a shooting at a residence in south Tucson just after 7 p.m. on Saturday.

The baby was pronounced dead at the scene. The 4-year-old girl and the mother were taken to a hospital, where the girl later died, Sgt. Maria Hawke said in a press release.

“Initial indications were that the mother of the children was home alone with them when the incident occurred,” Hawke said.  “While in the residence with both kids, she retrieved a handgun and shot both of her children.  The injuries that she sustained appeared to be self-inflicted, but were not life-threatening.”

Detectives said they were withholding the possible motive for the shooting “for investigative reasons.”

More content from NBCNews.com:

Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook