4 dead in Mojave shooting

MOJAVE — Four people were found fatally shot in a small Mojave Desert community, authorities said Monday.

Deputies responding to a shooting report late Sunday night in the unincorporated community of Mojave found a man and three women with gunshot wounds to their upper bodies, the Kern County Sheriff's Office said in a press release.

The man and two women died at the scene, which was only described as "a property." One of the women was pronounced dead at a hospital. Their identities were to be determined and released by the coroner's office after notification of families.

“KCSO Homicide Detectives are pursuing all investigative leads to identify and arrest the suspect(s) responsible for this crime,” the press release said.

No other details were immediately released, but sheriff's public information officer Lori Meza said in an email to The Associated Press that there was currently no threat to the community.

Mojave, population 3,600, is along an important rail line at an intersection of two state highways on the western side of the Mojave Desert about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Los Angeles.

The community is in a region with a history of gold and silver mining and is currently known for wind farms on nearby hills and the Mojave Air & Space Port, where aerospace companies such as Virgin Galactic have facilities.

The Kern County Sheriff's Office is investigating a mass shooting in Mojave that left four people dead.

According to a KCSO statement released Monday, Deputies received a call at 11:21 p.m. Sunday night regarding three subjects who were shot in a "violent assault" in the 15900 block of H Street in Mojave.

Authorities found four victims with gunshot wounds, including three adult females and one adult male. Three were pronounced dead at the scene, while the fourth, one of the female victims, was taken to Antelope Valley Medical Center in Lancaster before she died.

The Kern County Coroner's Office has yet to release the names of the victims. No arrests had been made by midday Monday, as authorities said the homicide detectives' investigation is ongoing.

KCSO Public Information Officer Lori Meza added Monday that depending on what additional information detectives are able to uncover in the intervening hours, the office may hold a press conference at 3 p.m. Monday afternoon to solicit help from the public.

That press conference would also be streamed on Facebook Live due to interest from national media, Meza said.