Anthony Alvarez, Calif. man accused of fatally shooting adult daughter and himself, had PTSD, son says
(CBS/AP) OROSI, Calif. - Anthony Alvarez, the California man suspected of shooting two of his adult daughters, killing one, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Vietnam as a Marine, the man's son said on Tuesday.
Alvarez Sr., 63, was diagnosed with the disorder several years ago at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Palo Alto, his son Anthony Alvarez Jr. told the Fresno Bee.
The son told the newspaper that his mother's death last year and the PTSD might have been too much for his father to bear.
The elder Alvarez's wife, Christine Mary Alvarez, died in January 2012, according to an obituary in the Visalia Times-Delta.
Authorities say Alvarez Sr. shot and killed 37-year-old Jennifer Kimble and wounded 33-year-old Valerie Alvarez before apparently taking his life on Monday at their home in Orosi, a Central Valley town of about 9,000 about 20 miles southeast of Fresno.
Valerie Alvarez has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, Alvarez Jr. said. As of Wednesday, Valerie Alvarez remained in the Fresno hospital in critical condition, Community Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Mary Lisa Russell said."The war had a lot to do with" his father's state of mind, Alvarez Jr. said. "He just stressed out after my mother died... he's never been the same."
When asked about PTSD, Tulare County sheriff's spokeswoman Sgt. Chris Douglass said she could not speculate on the motive of the shooting, because the shooter is dead.
Kimble's three children, an 8-year-old girl and two boys ages 11 and 13, were in the home at the time of the shootings - though Douglass declined to say whether they witnessed it. It was the 8-year-old who called 911; authorities have not released the recording of that call.The children were reunited with their father, who was at work during the shootings, authorities said.
Deputies located a .45-caliber revolver next to the shooter, Douglass said, and additional firearms in a locked safe in the home.