According to reports, a father shot his three daughters and an adult with them before turning the gun on himself at a church in California.

According to Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office Sargeant Rod Grassman, the children who were tragically shot were aged 9, 10, and 13.

“This was not a random shooting,” he said, adding that “all of the people involved knew each other.”

Police are investigating after a man carried out the shootings while walking inside The Church Sacramento in Sacramento’s Arden-Arcade neighbourhood in northern California.

On Monday, shortly after 5 p.m. local time, an attack occurred.

According to Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Capt. Parker Wilbourn, the fifth person killed was a supervisor or chaperone.

The man is believed to have had a restraining order, and the mother of the children, who was not present, was later contacted by police.

The Sacramento Sheriff issued the following statement on Twitter: “Due to a shooting, there is a large police presence in Howe and Ethan and Howe and Cottage; please avoid the area.

“The Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer will be at the command post at the Home Depot on Howe and Cottage.”

Later, another sheriff called the incident a “tragic domestic violence case.”

According to a statement issued by California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office: “We are actively monitoring the shooting at a Sacramento church and collaborating with local law enforcement.

“Our thoughts are with the community, parishioners, and all those impacted by this horrific event.”

Governor Newsom later called the shooting “another senseless act of gun violence in America – this time in our backyard. In a church with kids inside. Absolutely devastating.

“Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and their communities.”

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