DENVER (AP) — Police weren't searching for any suspects after two young children and a woman were found dead and a third child was hospitalized in critical condition after in a shooting at a northeast Denver house.
Relatives told Denver media outlets the woman was the mother of the children. They said her husband had left their home Tuesday night to cool off after a quarrel. Liliana Castro told The Denver Post the woman was her sister and that her sister's husband told her he had come home Wednesday morning to find the bodies.
Police wouldn't immediately confirm the names and relationships of the victims, nor did they say who they believed was responsible for the shooting.
"Is there a mass killer or someone running around? At this time we don't believe so," police Major Crimes Cmdr. Ron Saunier said.
Police Chief Robert White called the deaths "a horrible tragedy."
The house where the bodies were found is in an industrial area of warehouses and a trucking terminal, near the National Western Stock Show complex.
Neighbor Debbie Martinez said the house was recently remodeled, and she saw a family of five — two adults and three children — move in about six months ago.
"They seem like outgoing people. They didn't bother anybody," she said.
On a corner about a block from the scene, members of nearby Providence Bible Church gathered in a circle to prayer.
"Basically, we pray for the community," said Jose Rojas, pastor of the church.
"This is the horror of the whole country. There are all these shootings," he said. "I think it's too much, too much to see innocent people being killed."
The deaths came as the Colorado Legislature considers stricter gun laws and President Barack Obama tries to rally national support for a ban on assault weapons.