A dispute over a washing machine set off a gruesome chain of events in a Los Angeles home on New Year’s Eve, after a man shot dead his wife, his son’s girlfriend and a visitor, before his son gunned him down. The 48-year-old girlfriend lived with the family, while the 27-year-old visitor had come over for the evening’s celebrations, when the incident took place.
According to the county sheriff’s department, the man got into an argument with his son’s girlfriend over using the washing machine. The 56-year-old was known to be a heavy drinker and had a large gun collection, The Guardian reported. As the discussion got more heated, he pulled out a semi-automatic pistol and opened fire, officials said.
According to the report, his wife had recently had a stroke, and the younger couple had moved in to take care of her. She was in a hospital bed in the living room when the man went on his rampage. Eventually, 33-year-old Christopher Morey managed to take the gun from his father and shot him dead. Morey is being held on murder charges.
Gun crime is a heated topic in the United States, with political opponents either loudly advocating gun rights or pushing for gun control. President Barack Obama has repeatedly appealed for stricter control over firearms, saying as recently as Friday that he was willing to take unilateral action to tackle the problem of gun violence in the country.
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