Eastmark Shooting: The horrifying murder-suicide in a peaceful east Mesa neighborhood may have resulted from a man’s rage about his wife’s divorce.
The man’s wife had called the police almost two years earlier to report that his girls were terrified of him before he killed himself, his wife, and one of their daughters while injuring another child.
A 12-year-old girl who was bleeding frantically ran to a neighbor for assistance on Monday, March 8. Police were rushed to a residence on East Raleigh Avenue after a neighbor dialed 911, where they discovered Ruben Sanchez, his wife Ana Guerra, and their 18-year-old daughter all dead from gunshot wounds.
A gun was found close to the family members’ bodies, and they were “surrounded by a substantial amount of blood.”
Det. Brandi George of the Mesa Police Department stated that the unfortunate incident “appears to be a case of murder/suicide at this juncture in the investigation.”
“As of right now, it appears that Ruben Sanchez is the shooter in this case,” George said. “We are still waiting on forensic evidence to be tested and lab results to confirm what we believe happened by the Office of the Medical Examiner.”
According to George, the 12-year-old daughter who rushed to a neighbor for assistance was also shot, but her wrist wound wasn’t life-threatening. A local hospital was visited to treat the girl.
The five-bedroom house is a half-mile from Meridian Elementary School and is located just outside Eastmark on South Meridian and East Elliot roads. It was advertised for rent at $2,395 per month, and new tenants moved in November.
The family only interacted with the Mesa Police Department once more.
Guerra dialed 911 on May 1, 2019, identifying herself as Ana Sanchez.
Her two girls, she claimed, “are scared of their father,” and she claimed to be in California.
The mother said she was unable to contact the girls, who were 16 and 10 at the time.
Guerra emphasized that she wanted the police to see the girls and make sure they were not in danger while speaking Spanish and claiming she did not speak English.
Police arrived at the family home, which was then at 9560 E. Lompoc Ave., close to Desert Ridge High School, within a half-hour of the call. A responding officer reported that the 16-year-old was in good health. Received a warning at school.
Guerra also claimed in 2019 that she was going through a divorce.
Before the murder-suicide, the Mesa Police Department could not locate any other data about the family.
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