Father held after 4 California children, grandmother slain

Authorities say four children including an infant and their grandmother have been found shot to death in a Southern California home and that the children's father was arrested on suspicion of killing them

Four children, including an infant, and their grandmother were found shot to death in a Southern California home and the children's father was arrested on suspicion of killing them, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

The victims were found Sunday night in a home in the city of Lancaster in the high desert Antelope Valley north of Los Angeles.

The children's mother discovered the bodies and called 911, sheriff's Lt. Brandon Dean told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The grandmother, a girl and three boys suffered gunshot wounds to the upper torso and paramedics pronounced all of the victims dead at the scene. Authorities did identify them and did not disclose the ages of the children, saying only that one was an infant and the rest were under age 12 and that the grandmother was in her 50s.

Within a few minutes of the mother arriving home, the children's father, Germarcus David, 29, turned himself in to deputies at the Lancaster sheriff’s station, Dean said.

David was arrested after being interviewed by investigators and was held in lieu of $2 million bail.

The grandmother did not live with the family but had been babysitting, Dean said. He said he was unaware of any previous reports of domestic violence at the the home.

It was not immediately known if David had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. He was expected to make an initial appearance at the Antelope Valley Courthouse on Tuesday.

The killings happened in a neighborhood of tidy, modern homes, some decorated for Christmas. Crime scene tape blocked access to the street where the victims were shot.

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Associated Press writer John Antczak in Los Angeles and researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report.