Cops Find 5 Dead Bodies in Calif. Home

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Police stormed a home Monday where a man was holed up inside with a gun and found five people dead, including two children. Authorities believe they were victims of a murder-suicide.

Both children were under the age of 13 and the suspect was related to the victims, said Lt. Mike McBride of the Inglewood Police Department (search). No further details on the suspect or the victims were immediately released.

Events began to unfold early Monday when the wife of a Lennox man called to report him missing and told authorities he was distraught over financial problems, McBride said.

The man was tracked by Los Angeles County (search) sheriff's deputies to a yellow, single-family home in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood. The man's car was parked nearby and the door to the home was found slightly ajar.

Authorities knew the man had a handgun so they monitored the house until about 3 p.m., when SWAT (search) and other officers rushed inside and found the man and the others dead.

Police decided to enter the home after they were unable to establish communication with anyone inside, McBride said.

Authorities were not releasing how the suspect and the four others died, although they said no other people were believed to be involved.

"As far as we know, everybody who was involved in this was inside that house," McBride said.

The quiet Inglewood neighborhood where the killings occurred was abuzz Monday afternoon as families camped out on their doorsteps trying to get information on what happened.

McBride described the area as a middle-class neighborhood of single-family homes. He said it is rarely the target of gang violence or other violent crime.

Most neighbors said they didn't know the home's residents and rarely saw them outside.

Maria Ruiz said she had seen an elderly woman, her two sons and their families, which included two young boys, around the home.

"I've just seen them. I've never crossed words with them," said Ruiz, 22, who was trying to reach her parents' home next door, which was sealed off by police tape.

Other neighbors said the home had been remodeled two years ago and was vacant until last year.