Woman and children shot dead in ‘safest US city’

A gunman entered a home in a quiet suburban California neighbourhood and shot five people, killing three, police said.

Woman and children shot dead in ‘safest US city’

A gunman entered a home in a quiet suburban California neighbourhood and shot five people, killing three, police said.

Lt Rex Jones said police in Simi Valley were looking for a man in his mid-20s who was believed to have fled in a sport-utility vehicle.

He said a woman and two children under 10 were killed, and that the victims were believed to be related.

’’Somebody showed up, entered the home with a weapon and started shooting,’’ Jones said.

A 19-year-old woman and 16-year-old boy who were shot were in stable condition.

An 18-year-old was injured jumping out of a second-story window as he fled, and was not shot, said Kris Carraway-Bowman, a spokeswoman for Los Robles Medical Centre.

The incident occurred in a city that was ranked by the FBI this year as the nation’s most-crime-free city of 100,000 or more residents. Simi Valley, located about 35 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, is home to many police officers.

Either Simi Valley or neighbouring Thousand Oaks have been ranked first in safety among the nation’s large cities for 10 of the last 13 years.

Amherst, a college community in suburban Buffalo, New York, was first the other three years.

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