Gunman killed 4, self over jealousy of in-laws

A man who family members in California say shot four relatives to death before taking his own life was upset his wife was able to get visas for her relatives to travel from Vietnam to the United States, a relative said Tuesday.

To Van Khuat said 66-year-old Chi Dinh Ta had recently called him and told him he planned to kill his in-laws, who had recently arrived in San Jose from Asia.

“He said he was going to kill them. He had said things like this before, but I had always talked him down, calmed him down,” Khuat told the Mercury News in San Jose.

Ta had been seething with jealousy because he was not able to bring his own family from Vietnam, Khuat said.

Khuat said Ta was his wife’s cousin. He didn’t immediately return a call Tuesday from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Police found Ta dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound around 1:25 a.m. Monday after officers entered his home following reports of the shooting Sunday night. Two other adult women were found shot to death inside the residence.

Two other victims, an adult man and a woman, were taken to a hospital, where they died.

Ta’s wife and daughter fled to safety in a neighbor’s home during the rampage.

San Jose Police spokesman Sgt. Enrique Garcia said there was no recorded history of domestic violence at the home and that investigators were still trying to determine a motive.

Garcia said the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office would release the names of the victims, who are all believed to be related.

Ta’s in-laws were “the nicest people,” Khuat said.

“They were always nice to him,” Khuat said. “It was something in his mind, he snapped. I just found out about this. It is a terrible thing to hear.”

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