Anaheim police investigating murder-suicide

A wounded 3-year-old boy and his 5-year-old brother were found hiding Monday at an Anaheim home where police say a day earlier the father shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself .

The youngest of the children, who was wounded during the Sunday night violence, was found hiding near trash cans at the side of the house after his brother, who was not injured, called 911, Anaheim Police Sgt. Tim Schmidt said.

Around the time that police believe the shooting happened, a passerby called police to report shots fired, but the bodies were not found until the next morning.

About 8 p.m. Sunday, police went to the intersection of Crescent Avenue and North Fairhaven Street in Anaheim, but the officer did not have an address and did not find anyone to point out the source of the shots, so he left, Schmidt said.

“They didn’t do anything because they couldn’t locate the scene,” Schmidt said. “He could not locate anything....We didn’t have an address. There was no one there to tell him where to go.”

Meanwhile, about four homes from the intersection, police believe a father had unleashed brutal violence against his family.

According to an account told to police by the 5-year-old, police believe the father shot his 3-year-old son multiple times, injuring but not killing the boy . He shot at the 5-year-old boy but missed and shot and killed the boys’ mother before turning the gun on himself, police said.

The 3-year old boy hid near trash cans on the side of the home, while his brother hid in the home, Schmidt said.

About 10:45 a.m. Monday, a coworker of the father went to the home and found the 5-year-old who reportedly told him what had happened. The coworker handed the boy a cellphone and asked him to call the police. Officials were not sure why the co-worker did not make the call, Schmidt said.

The boy told police he could not find his younger brother but could hear him crying and screaming, Schmidt said.

The bodies of the boy’s mother and father were found in the backyard. The 5-year-old was unharmed and taken into protective custody by county social service workers. The 3-year-old was in critical condition at a hospital.

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Times staff writer Andrew Blankstein contributed to this report.