The man also fatally shot an adult before killing himself during what appeared to be a supervised visit, the authorities said.
A man believed to be meeting his three children for a supervised visit at a church just outside Sacramento on Monday afternoon fatally shot the children and an adult accompanying them before killing himself, police officials said.
Sheriff Scott Jones of Sacramento County told reporters at the scene that the gunman had a restraining order against him, and that he had to have supervised visits with his children, who were younger than 15.
The sheriff said that the mother of the children was safe and had been contacted by the authorities after the shooting.
“This is, as far as I can see, at this point a domestic-violence-related sort of incident,” Sgt. Rod Grassmann, a spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, told reporters at an earlier news conference.
Somebody else who was in the building called the authorities after hearing gunshots around 5 p.m., Sergeant Grassmann said.
“There will be a lot of physical evidence that needs to be collected,” the sergeant said. “You can count on that we will be out here for the night.”
It was unclear how many other people were at the church or why they were there, he said. The church had been holding its weekly services online because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to its website.
The church, which lists phone numbers for English, Chinese and Spanish speakers, is just east of the city, in a densely populated suburban area. It appears to be nondenominational and calls itself “the church in Sacramento.”
Sean Loloee, the City Council member who represents the region near the church, said the neighborhood was multicultural and blue-collar, with a mix of older people, families and first-time home buyers.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said on Twitter that the shooting was “another senseless act of gun violence in America.”
“This time in our backyard,” he said. “In a church with kids inside. Absolutely devastating. Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and their communities.”
Mayor Darrell Steinberg said in a statement that the shooting was “an unspeakable tragedy.”
“It happens too often, and tonight it happened in our backyard,” he said. “First thoughts are with the victims and their families. Same to the first responders who have to confront such a horrible scene.”
Shawn Hubler and Alyssa Lukpat contributed reporting.
