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Teenager, baby among victims of ‘cartel-style execution’ in California

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. — Police are searching for at least two suspects accused of murdering six people at a California home in what detectives described as a massacre.

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In a news conference on Tuesday, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said the attack which killed six people was deliberate and targeted. Boudreaux identified the victims, which included a 16-year-old girl, identified as Alissa Parraz, and her 10-month-old child, Nycholas Nolan Parraz.

“We believed that the teenage mother and her small infant actually were fleeing and running from the scene,” Boudreaux said. “What we have since learned through forensics is, it is clear that the shooter stood on top of the 16-year-old mother and fired rounds into her head. The 10-month-old infant also suffered from the same attack. None of this was by accident. It was deliberate, intentional and horrific.”

“I can’t wrap my head around what kind of monster would do this,” Samuel Pina, Alissa’s grandfather, told The Associated Press.

Pina told the AP that Alissa and her baby were living with her father’s side of the family and that her father’s uncle, cousin, grandmother and great-grandmother were also killed.

Boudreaux said there are three surviving victims of the violence, including one who was hiding inside the home.

“He was in such a state of fear that all he could do was hold the door, hoping that he was not the next victim,” said the sheriff.

Investigators described the murders as tied to gangs and potentially drugs, KABC reported. A drug-related search warrant was served at the property last week, according to KTTV.

“I think it’s specifically connected to the cartel,” Boudreaux told the Los Angeles Times, though he declined to name a particular organization. “The level of violence … this was not your run-of-the-mill, low-end gang member.”

Investigators said they are searching for at least two suspects but have not released any names or descriptions of who they are looking for.

“Let me make this very clear: not all these people in this home were gang members, and not all the people in this home were drug dealers,” the sheriff said. “The 16-year-old girl is an innocent victim. The grandmother inside appears to be an innocent victim, and definitely, this 10-month-old child is an innocent victim.”