Father Upset by Breakup With Kids’ Mother, Police Say

Police said Saturday that Jesus Velasquez, who apparently killed himself and two of his children Friday, was distraught over his separation from their mother.

Called to the 3200 block of Johnson Street in northeast Los Angeles Friday evening, police found Velasquez and his three children in a compact car.

Velasquez and the two oldest children had been shot in the head with a handgun, while the sole survivor, his 4-year-old daughter, had been grazed by a bullet.

Velasquez, who was alive when police arrived, died at the scene. His 6-year-old son was dead and his 7-year-old daughter died on the way to the hospital.

According to police, Velasquez, 27, had picked up the three children at the baby-sitter’s Friday afternoon, saying he was taking them to the park.

The children’s mother, who was not married to Velasquez and had been separated from him for two years, filed a domestic violence complaint last month in which she said he had threatened to kill her and the children, police said.

The surviving child, who police said was very traumatized, was reunited with her mother Friday night.