3 killed in shooting on California Indian reservation
Published: Sunday, December 9, 2012 at 10:31 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, December 9, 2012 at 10:31 a.m.
PORTERVILLE — A man suspected of shooting three people to death and wounding another on an Indian reservation died Sunday from his injuries in a shootout with police, authorities said.
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This undated photo provided by the Tulare County Sheriff's Department shows Hector Celaya, 31. Authorities say that Celaya is a suspect in shootings in which three people died and four others, including two young girls, were wounded Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012, on the Tule River Indian Reservation in the Sierra foothills of California's Central Valley.
(AP Photo/Tulare County Sheriff's Department)Hector Celaya, 31, died several hours after he was wounded during gunfire with Tulare County sheriff's deputies as he tried to flee in a vehicle. His death was confirmed by sheriff's Sgt. Chris Douglass, who did not release details.
Authorities apprehended him about six hours after deputies were called late Saturday to a trailer on the Tule Indian Reservation, about 50 miles north of Bakersfield. Inside, they found the body of a man and a woman; the body of another man was nearby.
Deputies also discovered a wounded young boy, whose condition and age were not known.
A motive for the attacks was not immediately known.
Officials said Celaya also shot his two daughters, ages 5 and 8, who were with him in the vehicle when he was apprehended. It was unclear when the girls were shot.
One girl suffered life-threatening injuries while the other girl was less seriously hurt.
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Associated Press writer John S. Marshall contributed to this report from San Francisco.
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