AURORA | Police said an Aurora man apparently fatally shot a 20-year-old woman and his 14-month-old daughter before killing himself Saturday morning.
On Tuesday, police identified the man as Alexander Kai Vargas, 19, of Aurora.
The Arapahoe County coroner office this week identified the fatally shot woman and baby as Alondra Reyes, 20, and Aaliyah Leanne Vargas Reyes, 14 months. Both deaths were deemed homicides caused by gunshot wounds.
Vargas’ mother, a 44-year-old woman inside the apartment on the 10300 block of East Evans Avenue, was also injured when she was shot in the hand. Police are not identifying the woman.
Police said the shooting occurred shortly before 10 a.m.
“When officers arrived at the scene, they located the suspected shooter, an Aurora 19-year-old, with an apparent, self-inflicted fatal gunshot wound,” Aurora police spokesperson Joe Moylan said in a statement.
Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said at a press conference, broadcast by 9News, that everyone involved in the shooting were linked, possibly as family.
A police spokesperson on Tuesday said that the Vargas and Reyes were formerly in a relationship.
Chamberlain said someone inside the house called 911 and dispatchers reported hearing arguing inside the home.
Shortly after, someone in the apartment called dispatchers back to report a shooting, Chamberlain said.
When police arrived, they encountered the young woman and baby suffering gunshot wounds.
“The girl and the woman were rushed to local hospitals, where they later died from their injuries,” Moylan stated.
The older woman was treated at the scene, police said.
As police worked their way into the apartment, they encountered a man, suffering what appeared to be a fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Chamberlain said.
“It appears to be, unfortunately, an act against family members,” he said. “We have an immense amount of sympathy for what happened here to the families and the community as a whole.”
When will we realize that guns are not the answer??
Are they withholding the woman and baby’s name because she tried to get a restraining order and the judge denied it? Many judges ignore the women when they say they’re afraid.