LOS ANGELES – An Amber Alert for two young brothers taken by their father after he shot his estranged wife on Father's Day has been canceled, though the boys are still missing.
Nevada police canceled the alert for Diego Fabian Ortega, 5, and 3-year-old Luis Gonzalo Ortega, 3, because they believe the boys' father, 26-year-old Jose Luis Ortega, is taking the children to Mexico, FOX5Vegas.com reports.
The man's pickup truck, which he used Sunday morning to get away from his Sunland home north of Los Angeles was found abandoned on Sunday night in Lancaster, Los Angeles police Officer Karen Smith said.
Jose Ortega shot the boys' mother as many as 12 times, but police said she was able to speak while being taken to the hospital.
"He told his wife that he was going to kill her family and that he was going to flee to Mexico," Smith said.
The name of the mother has not been released. She was in very serious condition early Monday following surgery.
Ortega is an itinerant construction worker, police said, and should be considered armed.
Neighbor Trevor Pikhart said he was getting ready to brush his teeth Sunday morning when the shooting started. "All of a sudden we heard four shots — boom, boom, boom, boom," Pikhart said. There was a pause, he said, then more shots.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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