Domestic violence at a South Los Angeles home may have led to a shooting that left two family members dead and another wounded, police said.
The shooting was reported in the 1100 block of 55th Street just before 11 a.m. Thursday, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Officers found a woman and a man dead inside the two-story craftsman home. Paramedics transported to hospital a third victim, a younger woman, with non-life-threatening injuries.
"This is a really tragic situation," LAPD Cmdr. Phillip Tingirides said. "This is all family related. Everybody that was in the house is all related."
Tingirides said the investigation was in its early stages, but it appeared that a dispute led one family member to shoot two others. Another family member also got a gun and opened fire on the original shooter.
Family members identified the two who died as Ponstella Everson and her son-in-law Michael Pineda. Relatives learned from police that investigators believe Pineda was the initial aggressor, wounding his wife, Tonya, and killing his mother-in-law. Ponstella Everson's son Ronald, Tonya's brother, also became involved.
"He defended her," said Donna Harris, who identified herself as a cousin of Ponstella Everson. It was Harris's understanding that Ronald Everson shot to death Pineda.
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After initial investigation, the shooting of the initial aggressor appeared to be "justifiable homicide," said Commander Tingirides. Investigators remained at the location well into the evening.
What led to the deadly dispute was not clear. Harris said she was not aware of a conflict in the marriage, nor between Pineda and his mother-in-law. "She was good to him," Harris said.
Aunt Rose Davis fondly remembered Ponstella Everson as "a good woman."
Members of the Los Angeles Mayor's Crisis Response Team came to the neighborhood to offer assistance to arriving family members.
Harris was able to speak with Tanya Everson Pineda Thursday afternoon after she emerged from surgery. It appears she will recover.
Just Wednesday, Poncella Everson had visited Harris at her home in Victorville and told her she had located a home in the area and planned to move there with her daughter's family, Harris recalled.
"She wanted to get out of L.A. so her kids and grandson could be safe," Harris said
Rosa Ordaz contributed to this report.
