A 35-year-old former California Highway Patrol officer who police say killed his wife in Southern California headed to Stockton after the attack and shot a man at a local gym before turning the gun on himself, authorities confirmed Friday.
The Stockton shooting, considered an attempted murder-suicide, occurred shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday. Sources said it took place at the CrossFit gym on west Eight Mile Road.
Police identified the gunman as Miguel Lopez, a Lodi resident who was found dead at the scene. As a CHP officer, he worked out of the Hayward station and later in the Stockton office before leaving the force.
The 54-year-old man he shot, whose name was not disclosed, was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, Stockton police said. It was not immediately clear Friday how severely the man had been wounded or what his condition was.
Prior to the Stockton shooting, police in Garden Grove – some 370 miles south of Stockton in Orange County – were called by a concerned person asking them to check on the residents of a home in 11500 block of Morgan Lane. Garden Grove police said they also received a call from a girl who was at the home and said her mom needed help.
When officers arrived, they found a woman identified as Crystal Gonzalez, 37, of Lodi, dead inside. The girl and another child at the home identified Lopez as their father and Gonzalez as their mother. Officers determined the pair were married. There were no signs that Lopez had forced his way into the home where his wife was found dead.
Officers were told that Lopez had departed the Garden Grove house “very early” Thursday morning and began searching for him. During that time, family members told police his vehicle had been located in Stockton.
That’s when Garden Grove detectives reached out to Stockton police and discovered that Lopez had been involved in the shooting at the Stockton gym. A gun was recovered at that scene.
Regarding Lopez’s past employment with the CHP, the agency put out a statement, saying: “The alleged conduct of this former employee does not reflect the professionalism of the thousands of CHP members who pledge to provide the highest level of safety, service, and security to the people of California. The CHP extends its thoughts and prayers to the families and friends of those involved in this terrible tragedy.”
Garden Grove detectives on Friday were still trying to piece together the sequence of events. They asked that anyone with information call them at (714) 741-5413.