News / Society

US gunman kills woman, himself

Wednesday, 01 April 2015 5:20 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 01 April 2015 5:19 AM ]

Officers surrounded a building in Fresno, California when a man shot to death a woman and then took his own life.

A US gunman has fatally shot a woman and then committed suicide at a medical office in Fresno, California, police said.

43-year-old Neng Moua walked into the busy pediatric clinic on Tuesday and opened fire killing his estranged wife, 34, before shooting himself to death.

“This a tragedy and we are grateful no one else was hurt or killed during this incident,” Fresno police Deputy Chief Pat Farmer said.

Police say that the incident resulted from a dispute over custody of their five children and the woman, who worked as a receptionist at the medical office, had two other children from a previous relationship.

According to a witness, Kelly Mek, 13, the gunman entered the office holding a gun which was wrapped in fabric. He walked toward the woman, Mek said.

The man said, “Why did you come to my house?” and the woman replied, “You need to leave,” the girl recounted.

The gunman got hold of the woman and pulled her hair unwrapping the gun, added the girl, who then fled the office with her mother and brother.

Officers, who arrived at the scene following a report of gunshots, heard several more shots upon their arrival. They surrounded the building and broke open a window to allow people to escape.

The US averages 87 deaths each day as a function of gun violence, with an average of 183 injured, according to the University of Chicago Crime Lab and the Centers for Disease Control.

Gun-related casualties have turned into a “major public health crisis” in the United States, according to a recent report by eight US medical associations.

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