RIO RANCHO, N.M. (KRQE) – Rio Rancho police are investigating the shooting deaths of a mother, a father, and their two sons as a murder-suicide. The investigation began on Wednesday in a neighborhood near Unser and Paseo Del Volcan.
According to the Rio Rancho Police Department, all of the victims are members of the same family and live in the home the shootings took place in the Northern Meadows subdivision. The victims have been identified as 50-year-old Carlos Velasquez, 45-year-old Marilyn Velasquez, 22-year-old Roberto Velasquez, and Adrian Velasquez, 14.
Relatives discovered the bodies in the home on Wednesday after they couldn’t get ahold of the family. Authorities are not saying who the shooter was, just that the RRPD is investigating the incident as a murder-suicide.
Carlos Velasquez and his wife Marilyn Quinones-Velasquez along with their two sons were found shot to death inside the home. According to Carlos’ Facebook page, he was a realtor.
KRQE News 13 has also learned that 22-year-old Roberto was home for the holidays from Stanford where he was an engineering masters student. Fourteen-year-old Adrian, or AJ, was a freshman at Cleveland High School.
The sister of Marilyn, Rose Varona says the family was all together Tuesday night for the holiday and everything seemed normal.
“I just had a feeling something was wrong, cause since yesterday in the evening I was telling my sister my heart was heavy and racing and I didn’t know why,” said Varona.
She says Tuesday night they were having a wonderful time and stayed up until the early morning enjoying time together.
It wasn’t until Wednesday when the family was supposed to get together again, that Varona says she got a bad feeling. She and other family members were worried they hadn’t heard from the family, so Varona’s brother and mom went to check-in.
That’s when they found the tragic scene. “I really don’t understand what’s going on, we just try to draw the strength from God, even though we don’t understand what’s going on,” said Varona.
A GoFundMe has been started to cover funeral expenses for Marilyn Quinones-Velasquez and her two sons and is available here. Noticeably absent from the GoFundMe picture is the father, Carlos.
KRQE News 13 reached out to the woman who started the GoFundMe but have not yet heard back. KRQE News 13 will provide updates as more information is released.
