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A San Joaquin County Sheriff's deputy helps piece together the events of ahomicide-suicide Wednesday in Lockeford. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)
Two dead after man shoots woman, self
Authorities still determining a motive; witnesses say Lockeford shooting was preceded by an argument
Two people died Wednesday when a man shot a woman multiple times in a Lockeford shopping center parking lot and then turned the gun on himself, authorities and witnesses said.
The 12:50 p.m. shooting in a busy shopping center at Highway 88 and North Sierra Drive stunned clerks and customers, who suddenly became eye-witnesses to a double homicide.
The suspected shooter, Gary Lynn Abbott, 58, was pronounced dead at the scene while the victim, Barbara Paulette Abbott, 49, was pronounced dead after she was taken away by an ambulance, said San Joaquin County Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Les Garcia.
Investigators were still trying to determine a motive, but they and witnesses said the shooting was preceded by an argument. The two previously had a relationship, said Garcia, but he could not confirm the current status of that relationship by Wednesday night.
For shop owners and nearby residents, the scene was surreal, with the man's body and a pair of broken sunglasses still lying in an entrance to the shopping center. One resident tried to perform CPR on Barbara Abbott after running to the scene, while another happened to be walking by and saw the whole thing unfold.
"I just watched him shoot her about four times, then he aimed at me and then he shot himself," 15-year-old Jeremiah Wright said in a quiet voice.
The teenager had been walking from his mother's hair salon, where he was doing independent study schoolwork, to their home nearby to get a computer battery. He was waiting to cross Highway 88 and was only slightly aware that the couple were arguing.
"I heard yelling and then shots," he said, a hand slightly shaking as he clutched a detective's business card. "He shot her once and she screamed. The she was on her knees and he was shooting her."
Wright was sure the shooter, who he said was wearing a black beanie and looked "kind of scruffy," looked right at him and pointed the gun. But instead the man turned the gun on himself.
The sound of gunshots echoed through the neighborhood of well-kept homes in the Lockeford Bluffs subdivision northeast of downtown Lockeford, where Randy Cantaloupi had just arrived home from a morning of fishing. He had seen the couple arguing but didn't think much of it until, about five minutes later, he heard four or five shots.
Cantaloupi, who previously spent 10 years as a volunteer Mokelumne firefighter, ran toward the scene, where he saw that Gary Abbott was obviously dead.
"I went straight to the gal and took her pulse, tried to do what I could," he said. "I lost her before the fire department got there."
All Cantaloupi could do was perform chest compressions on Barbara Abbott, who was already unconscious with a faint pulse.
He wished he had medical emergency gear with him and more than once said he wished he could have done more for the woman, who had been shot multiple times in the back, as well as in the back of the head.
Cantaloupi moved to Lockeford from Stockton eight years ago, in part to get away from crime, and a double shooting was the last thing he expected in the neighborhood that is not known for trouble. That sentiment was echoed by other bystanders, as well as passing motorists.
"A shooting? In Lockeford?" said a man who was waiting in stopped traffic on Highway 88 and flagged down a reporter to ask what had happened.
Adding to the scene was a medical helicopter, which landed across the highway from the shopping center. It was ultimately sent back to base without being used.
Homicide investigators gathered at the scene, where deputies stretched yellow crime scene tape around the area, including a white Pontiac Grand Prix.
The car, with Nevada license plates, was apparently driven by the shooter, authorities said. Cantaloupi noticed a gun holster inside the car.
Also included in the crime scene was an orange Chrysler Pacifica sport-utility vehicle, which witnesses said belonged to the woman. A bracket around the license plate read, "My Other Ride Is A Harley Bad Boy!" The plate itself read, "A MOM INC," which caught the attention of Debbie Wright, mother of the teenage witness.
"Someone is missing a mom," she said quietly.
Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.
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Cogito wrote on Apr 10, 2008 11:47 PM:
WY wrote on Apr 10, 2008 10:56 PM:
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SSG Jeremy wrote on Apr 10, 2008 9:40 PM:
reb5 wrote on Apr 10, 2008 9:08 PM:
Cogito wrote on Apr 10, 2008 8:17 PM:
wdsjr wrote on Apr 10, 2008 8:48 AM:
My condolences to the family. "
danielH wrote on Apr 10, 2008 7:56 AM:
reality1 wrote on Apr 10, 2008 7:51 AM:
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