Police: 4 dead, including 2 teens in apparent Linden, New Jersey murder suicide

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Thursday, February 23, 2023
Police: 4 dead, including 2 teens in apparent Linden, New Jersey murder suicide
Four people were killed in an apparent murder-suicide on Sunday morning in Linden. Lucy Yang has more.

LINDEN, New Jersey (WABC) -- A New Jersey community is shaken after an entire family is dead in an apparent murder-suicide.

Officials say the incident happened sometime before 9:30 a.m. near Chatham Place in Linden.

When police arrived, they found the two parents dead along with a teenage girl. A teenage boy was in critical condition, but hours later he passed away at the hospital.

A neighbor, Digna Alvarez was home with her sister-in-law when she heard a child screaming.

"She heard somebody was screaming, but she was thinking someone was playing with the dog, and then no more," Alvarez said.

Another neighbor, Roman Zygadro, broke down at the scene, telling officers she believed the teenage girl was her student.

"They were a very nice family, good neighbors -- he was an electrician, she was a beautician," said Zygadro.

Neighbors say that in 2007, the couple who lived in the home moved in, got married, and had two kids.

"Never had any problems, any fights -- nothing. Very nice people, whenever you needed help, they helping us," added Alvarez.

As for the violence, at this point, police will only say that the shooter is believed to be among the dead.

Christian Reyes was friends with the adult male victim.

"Grew up in high school, hang around the same group of friends, he was always well-rounded person -- peaceful, calm," Reyes said.

However, others describe a different situation. One woman who did not want to be identified said there were issues.

"Sometimes he did shoot his gun. A couple of years in the backyard and they had to call the police, but never would I believe he would do something like that," she said.

A memorial grew in the neighborhood on Sunday night as tears and heartache outweighed any answers.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to collect contributions towards a funeral and memorial.

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