Sheriff’s investigators say evidence points to a murder-suicide by the adult male discovered inside the Mill Water Circle house.
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. — A welfare sweep turned into a homicide investigation Tuesday after deputies breaching a Rancho Cordova home found four people shot to death, including two children. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said the case appears to be a murder-suicide carried out by the man located inside.
Authorities said the response began just after 8:30 a.m., when a caller reported the sound of gunfire near Copper Sunset Way and Mill Water Circle. A second caller minutes later claimed he was the shooter and said the home was booby-trapped, triggering evacuations and a large-scale response that included a bomb squad, a mobile command center and armored equipment. By afternoon, explosives technicians said they found no traps. Detectives focused on a single home on the 5400 block of Mill Water Circle in the Kavala Ranch area, a suburban pocket of southeastern Rancho Cordova.
Investigators described a careful entry. Deputies used a heavy “rook” vehicle to break through a backyard fence and a sliding glass door, then flew a small drone into the house to gauge the scene, Sgt. Edward Igoe of the sheriff’s office said. The drone soon located an unresponsive man. When deputies entered, they discovered the bodies of a woman, a girl and a boy, all with gunshot wounds. Officials said they were not searching for any additional suspects and there was no ongoing threat to neighbors who had been told to shelter or temporarily leave during the initial sweep.
Detectives worked room by room as forensic teams collected shell casings, photographed walls and secured firearms. Records show several guns were registered to a man at the address, and officials noted prior military service for the resident. The sheriff’s office said it had no record of previous domestic-violence calls to the home. The 911 call claiming booby traps remained under review Tuesday night, and investigators had not publicly confirmed whether the man found inside was the caller. The coroner was tasked with confirming identities and conducting autopsies to determine exact causes of death.
Outside, residents filtered to the corner where the cul-de-sac meets Copper Sunset Way, trading updates under police tape. “It’s quiet for the most part,” said neighbor Cameron Daughtery. “Everybody’s friendly and peaceful. So to see this, it’s wild.” A department chaplain joined detectives at the scene as the day wore on. “It’s always difficult,” Igoe said of the response to a death investigation involving children. “As an agency, as a human, as a father, look out for each other and take care of each other in this very difficult time,” he added later.
The sheriff’s office said evidence indicates the man killed the woman and two children before turning the gun on himself, though a motive had not been established. Names and ages will be released by the coroner after next-of-kin notifications. Deputies said there was no indication of additional suspects, and they lifted initial evacuations once the bomb squad cleared the property. Detectives continued interviews with neighbors and began reconstructing a timeline from the moment the shots were reported to the armored entry shortly after noon.
By nightfall, crime-scene technicians remained inside the Mill Water Circle home as a mobile command post idled nearby. Patrol units shifted to perimeter duty while investigators retrieved digital records and canvassed for cameras that may have captured the morning’s events. The next update is expected after identifications and preliminary autopsy findings are complete, along with any clarification on the origin of the second 911 call.
Author note: Last updated January 28, 2026.