Police said a married couple and their teenage daughter suffered gunshot wounds in an apparent isolated incident under investigation.
SAN DIEGO, CA — San Diego police are investigating the deaths of a married couple and their teenage daughter who were found inside a Lake Murray-area home Wednesday morning after a concerned neighbor entered the residence and discovered them, authorities said.
Officers were called shortly before 8:20 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, to a home in the 6800 block of Boulder Lake Avenue, near Navajo Road. Police said a 56-year-old man and his 54-year-old wife were found unresponsive and were pronounced dead at the scene. Officers searching the home also found the couple’s teenage daughter dead. Preliminary evidence indicated that all three died from gunshot wounds.
The neighbor who discovered the family had been trying to reach them after hearing what she believed were gunshots or loud bangs from the home the previous night. Police said the neighbor had access to the residence because she regularly cared for the family’s pets. Her concern increased Wednesday morning when she did not see the teenager leave for school, prompting her to enter the home.
San Diego police homicide investigators responded to the residence and began examining the circumstances surrounding the deaths. Investigators recovered a firearm inside the home, according to police. Authorities said there was no evidence of forced entry. Police had not publicly identified who fired the weapon or released a sequence of events leading to the deaths as of Thursday.
Police said they were not searching for a suspect and did not believe there was an ongoing danger to the surrounding community. Lt. Christopher Leahy of the San Diego Police Department described the case as an isolated incident and said investigators had found no indication of a broader public threat. Authorities have not announced a motive or formally characterized the deaths beyond the ongoing homicide investigation.
The teenager attended Pershing Middle School, where school officials confirmed Wednesday that an eighth-grade student had died in an incident at her home. Principal Kristy Aragon told families in a letter that the school community was deeply saddened by the student’s death and that counselors would be available to support students and staff. The school did not release the student’s name.
Neighbors described a heavy police presence around the residential neighborhood as detectives worked at the property. Streets near the home were temporarily restricted while investigators processed the scene. Some residents told local news organizations that they knew or had interacted with the family, but police had not released the names of the three people pending the investigation and formal notification procedures.
Authorities have also not publicly disclosed when the three people died, whether the sounds reported by the neighbor Tuesday night were connected to the fatal shootings or what evidence investigators believe explains the circumstances inside the home. The lack of forced entry and the recovery of a firearm are among the facts investigators are examining, but police have not announced conclusions about who was responsible for the deaths.
The San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit continues to investigate. Police have asked anyone with information about the incident to contact homicide investigators or San Diego County Crime Stoppers. No arrests had been announced, and officials continued to say there was no known threat to the public.
Author note: Last updated September 17, 2026.