Victims in Lakewood murder-suicide identified as shooter’s wife and his youngest daughter

Hector Lionel Alfaro also shot at his eldest daughter before committing suicide, but she was unharmed.

LAKEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) — A Lakewood father fatally shot his wife and youngest daughter Thursday before opening fire on his eldest daughter and killing himself in front of her, authorities said.

Deputies responded at around 7:55 a.m. Thursday to the 5800 block of Lorelei Avenue, near South Street, to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The caller stated that her father had shot at her and was now lying near her on the floor unconscious, according to authorities.

When deputies arrived, they were met by an “extremely distraught” 19-year-old woman who was detained for questioning after she came outside. Inside the house, they found three deceased individuals — the teenage girl, a man, and a woman.

Deputies entered the home and found the woman’s father, identified as 52-year-old Hector Lionel Alfaro, lying on the floor in the den of the home suffering from a gunshot wound to his upper torso.

As deputies continued through the home they located Alfaro’s 48-year-old wife in a bedroom with a gunshot wound to her torso.

In a second bedroom, deputies found a 17-year-old female suffering from a gunshot wound to her upper torso. She was later identified as Alfaro’s youngest daughter.

The 19-year-old woman, identified as Alfaro’s eldest daughter, heard gunshots inside the home while she was asleep.

Alfaro then appeared near her armed with a handgun and shot at her several times; however, she was not struck by gunfire.

Alfaro then shot himself while standing near his 19-year-old daughter.

The 19-year-old did not sustain any injuries and was taken to the Lakewood Sheriff’s Station to be interviewed by investigators. LASD Lt. Daniel Vizcarra noted that she was not a suspect or a person of interest in the case.

The lieutenant confirmed that a gun was recovered at the home.

Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighters cleared the location by 8:51 a.m. and did not take anyone to a hospital, a Fire Department spokesman said.

A 17-year-old girl and two adults were found dead Thursday morning inside a home in Lakewood following a triple shooting, authorities said.

“There is no threat to the public at-large and there is no outstanding suspect,” Rogers wrote on social media.

Sheriff’s Capt. Daniel Holguin told reporters at the scene: “Obviously this incident is a tragedy. Lakewood is one of the safest cities in L.A. This is definitely going to affect our community regarding this tragedy, but like (Vizcarra) said, at this time it seems like an isolated incident and there’s no safety issues to the public right now.”

Deputies entered the residence to discover 52-year-old Hector Lionel Alfaro lying on the floor in the family den (also referred to as the living room in some reports), suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his upper torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene. In separate bedrooms, officers located his 48-year-old wife, Roxana Rodriguez (also reported as Roxana Alfaro), and their 17-year-old daughter, Sienna Alfaro (named in some accounts as Lilly), both with fatal gunshot wounds to the upper torso. All three were declared deceased upon arrival.

The surviving 19-year-old daughter provided key details to investigators. She told authorities she had been asleep when she was awakened by the sound of gunshots echoing through the home. Moments later, her father appeared near her, armed with a handgun, and fired several times in her direction. Miraculously, none of the shots struck her. Alfaro then turned the weapon on himself while standing close by, collapsing in the den where officers later found him.

Two firearms were recovered from the scene, supporting the conclusion that this was a domestic murder-suicide carried out by Alfaro. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Investigators have not publicly disclosed a motive, though family members and neighbors have spoken of a seemingly normal household with no prior obvious signs of extreme distress. Relatives, including Alfaro’s brother-in-law Jorge Fuentes, expressed profound grief, describing the event as “hard to process” amid an outpouring of community support.

Amid the confirmed details of the shootings, one element from the initial police discovery has fueled speculation and remains unexplained to this day: an item found on the floor near the bodies or in the den. Reports from initial scene descriptions and circulating accounts mention police noting an object on the floor that did not immediately fit the narrative of the crime—something that puzzled first responders and has not been elaborated on in official statements. Whether it was a personal belonging, a piece of evidence tied to a possible altercation, or something innocuous that gained attention in the chaos, authorities have withheld specifics, leaving it shrouded in mystery. No further clarification has emerged from the ongoing investigation, and it continues to intrigue those following the case closely.

The tragedy has drawn widespread media attention, with outlets like the New York Post, Fox News, Daily Mail, and local Los Angeles stations detailing the sequence of events. The surviving daughter, emotionally distraught but physically unharmed, was taken to the Lakewood Sheriff’s Station for questioning and support. Community members have rallied around the family, with neighbors sharing recollections of a quiet, unremarkable family life disrupted without warning.

This incident adds to a somber tally of domestic violence-related fatalities in the U.S., highlighting the devastating impact of unchecked mental health struggles or hidden tensions within households. As the investigation proceeds, the focus remains on supporting the surviving daughter and understanding what led to such irreversible actions. The unexplained item on the floor serves as a haunting reminder that even in seemingly straightforward cases, some details may forever elude full explanation.

For now, Lakewood mourns the loss of Roxana Rodriguez and Sienna Alfaro, while the surviving family member carries the weight of those final, terrifying moments—and the unanswered questions that linger in the silence of that home.