A California man was shot dead Thursday morning by sheriff’s deputies after a three hour standoff that began when his mother called 911 to say she’d been shot. Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies and Rancho Cordova police officers responded to the scene at about 1:15 a.m. and found an unresponsive woman outside the home’s front door, according to a statement from the Rancho Cordova Police Department posted by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office but not by the department itself. They also saw a man, later identified as 38-year-old Thomas Konvalin, in the doorway.
Konvalin refused to comply with the officers’ orders and instead barricaded himself inside.
The officers confirmed the woman was dead and tried unsuccessfully to establish communication with Konvalin. About three hours later — after “limited interactions by phone with the suspect” — officers approached the home with an armored vehicle, and Konvalin left via a back window, carrying a rifle. Deputies shot him three times, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Once the got inside, officers found a man had been shot and killed. He and the woman were identified as Konvalin’s elderly parents, 69-year-old Marylou Konvalin and 72-year-old William Konvalin.
Investigators believe the suspect shot his parents before the standoff. The deputies involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.