Six people, including a six-month-old baby being held by her 17-year-old mother, were shot and killed Monday at a home in California's main agricultural valley. This is reported by Reuters.
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreau linked the murders to drug trafficking, saying sheriff's deputies had raided the same home last week in connection with drugs.
According to him, two suspects remain at large.
Authorities responded early Monday morning after multiple shots were fired. Some victims were found outside while others were found inside the home.
One victim was alive and injured when police arrived but later died at a hospital, Boudreau said. The attacks took place in Goshen, a farming community of 5,400 people about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The bodies of the infant and the 17-year-old mother were found in a ditch outside the home, Boudreau later told the Los Angeles Times. Both had gunshot wounds to the head.
Several more people were shot in the head, including an elderly woman. Two women managed to survive by hiding in a trailer on the property.
"I think it's directly related to the cartel. The level of violence ... this was not an ordinary low-class gang member," Boudreau said in an interview with the newspaper.
"If (they're) purposefully shooting at everyone's mind, they know what they're doing," he added.
A search warrant last week also reportedly led to one arrest and the seizure of a gun, marijuana and methamphetamine.