Second victim in southwest Fresno church shooting dies, police say

Fresno police said Sunday evening that the second victim shot in the parking lot of the St. Alphonsus Church in southwest Fresno has died.

Police say his girlfriend’s estranged husband shot them around 8:30 a.m. Sunday as they sat in their car after Mass. The husband then shot himself at his home.

Police say 64-year-old Martha Garcia’s estranged husband, Manuel Garcia, 64, allegedly shot her and her boyfriend in the head as after waiting for them to emerge from the church. Martha Garcia died in the parking lot, and her boyfriend was taken to the hospital.

Manuel Garcia allegedly sent his daughter a series of text messages stating he had killed her mother and was going to kill himself, and she called police.

After Fresno police and SWAT officers arrived and heard a gunshot in the home, a robot entered to find Manuel Garcia dead of a gunshot wound to the head and a gun in his hand.

Fresno police chief Jerry Dyer said Manuel Garcia and Martha Garcia had been married for 43 years but she had filed for divorce about a month ago. The woman continued living in the family home, Dyer said, and had recently told relatives that she had a boyfriend.

This story was originally published November 5, 2017 at 10:06 PM with the headline "Second victim in southwest Fresno church shooting dies, police say."