Inset: Shane Killian appears in a booking photo (Alameda County) Main image: the house where a massacre occurred in Alameda, Calif. on July 10, 2024. (Google Maps)
A California man is alleged to have brought pure horror to a well-heeled suburban community near the San Francisco Bay Area when he shot and killed almost every member of his family last week.
Shane Killian, 54, stands accused of four counts of premeditated murder in the first degree, one count of attempted murder, and associated firearms charges, according to the Alameda Police Department. He is also accused of domestic violence, elder abuse, and a wide array of aggravating charges and special allegations.
The defendant killed his wife, his 6-year-old son, his mother-in-law, and his father-in-law, police say. Killian is also alleged to have shot and critically injured his 1-year-old son who is still recuperating at the UC San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland.
On the night of June 10, the violence unfolded at the family’s residence on Kitty Hawk Road near the corner of Franciscan Way. Officers responded to a call from the defendant’s father-in-law, who briefly escaped the massacre to call for help at a neighbor’s house.
“This is a tragic and sad incident,” Alameda Police Chief Nishant Joshi said during a press conference. “And I’ll say this: these are the actions of a coward. I know what happened — I have some idea of what happened. And this person’s actions were those of a coward.”
A motive for the slayings has yet to be floated by police. When pressed on his knowledge of what happened inside the Killian house that night, Joshi said the shooting of children and the elderly were enough, in his book, to characterize the shooter as a coward.
Multiple shots were fired and multiple firearms were recovered from the residence, police said. Killian allegedly spoke with detectives after being detained and the investigation is said to be ongoing.
“He did not resist,” the police chief said during the press conference. “I think he was surprised our officers got there fairly quickly.”
The family had recently moved to the area, law enforcement said — but did not elaborate further. There was only one prior police call to the Killians, Joshi added, over someone being a victim of a theft.
In the final moments of his life, Miguel Carcamo, the defendant’s father-in-law, “made some statements” to officers rendering him aid, the police chief said. Those statements are the only ones made by any of the victims regarding the incident, according to police.
Blood was left on the pavement by the dying man. Neighbors, in the aftermath of the shocking and for-the-community-unheard-of crime, helped to clean up, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The other adult victims have been identified as Brenda Natali Morales, the shooter’s wife, and Marta Elena Morales, her mother.
The 6-year-old boy who was killed played baseball in the local Little League, according to Oakland-based Fox affiliate KTVU.
“Our heart goes out to them in its fullest,” Alameda Little League President Ron Matthews said in comments reported by the TV station. “This is really harmful to us — hurtful I should say. Their innocence, especially at the age of 6, is clear. They’re innocent, and for this to happen to such innocents, and even a 1-year-old baby.”
A pistol and an illegal AR-style rifle were some of the guns recovered from the broken and shattered home, police later told KTVU.
Killian is currently being held without bail in the Santa Rita Jail, according to Alameda County records. He is due in court on July 22.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
