4 dead, 1 wounded in Calif. home shooting attack
By DON THOMPSON and JOHN S. MARSHALL, Associated Press
Jun 10, 2012 8:53 PM CDT

Authorities sought a motive Sunday after an assailant entered a Sacramento home and shot three people to death, police said. A fourth person who has been determined to be a suspect also died, while a fifth person was wounded and was in critical condition.

Officers who responded to reports of gunfire at the home Saturday night found three men and one woman dead, police spokeswoman Officer Michelle Gigante said. One of the dead, determined to be a suspect, was shot by someone inside the house who had confronted him, Gigante said.

Investigators weren't sure if there were additional suspects.

Late Sunday afternoon, more than a dozen people gathered just outside of the crime scene tape that cordoned off the home and the entire block of the residential neighborhood of one-story homes.

Television news trucks were parked nearby, while reporters looked on and children rode their bicycles and played in nearby yards.

Authorities still hadn't released the names of the victims, but neighbor Mai Thao, who previously lived on the same block, said she knew the victims.

"They're really nice people," she said. "They're always quiet and looked really happy."

Two of the victims were described as shamans _ spiritual elders _ in the Hmong community.

The surviving victim remained in critical but stable condition Sunday, Gigante said, but she declined to provide additional details.

Police initially described the killings as occurring during a home invasion, but Gigante later said investigators don't know the motive. Authorities have determined that some gang members may have been involved and the attack "doesn't seem like it was random," Gigante said.

The names of the victims have not been released. Two were residents of the home and two were what Gigante described as "guests."

Police were asking members of the public who may have information about the shooting to contact them.

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Marshall reported from San Francisco.