SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Four people have been found dead in a home in Sacramento's South Land Park neighborhood, Sacramento police said Thursday.
A possible suspect has been arrested in San Francisco near Pierce Street and Golden Gate Avenue, police said in a tweet.
The four bodies were found after officers preformed a welfare check on the home about 7 a.m., said Officer Linda Matthew, police spokeswoman.
Authorities performed the check after receiving a call from a family member in the Bay Area who believed there were suspicious circumstances at the house.
Officers entered the home after no one answered their knocks.
"This does not appear to be a random act. We believe the victims were known to the suspect and at this time, a possible suspect is detained in San Francisco," Matthew said.
Police continued to work late into the afternoon, with investigators coming in and out of a tan house on 35th Avenue. A basketball hoop sat in the middle of the home's driveway.
Don Sherrill, whose Lundy Court house shares a backyard with the taped-off home, said he remembered talking to a man and his two children _ a boy and a girl _ a few years ago after burglars struck the 35th Avenue home. The two talked about repairing a fence that divided the two yards following the incident.
Sherrill, who is retired, said he believes the home is occupied by the family, which has rented the home for about five to six years.
He and his wife, Joanne Sherrill, said they often heard the children playing in the back yard when it was nice out.
"The young kids really enjoyed the backyard and swimming in the summer time," said Joanne Sherrill. The family used an inflatable pool, she said.
The couple said they had not heard anything unusual coming from the home Thursday morning.
Sacramento County property records indicate that Kazuko J. Saruwatari owns the 35th Avenue home.
Saruwatari, the person Don Sherrill said had worked with him to coordinate the fence repair years before, did not respond to calls from The Sacramento Bee.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said that at least two of the victims were children.
"This was a horrifying incident but thanks to the rapid response and good work of our Police Department, the suspect has already been arrested," Steinberg said in a written statement. "All our hearts here at City Hall go out to the victims, their families, schools and community. As a city, we stand ready to embrace the families and community in anything we can do to help. It's extremely tragic."
Brian Ebbert, who sits on the board of directors for the South Land Park Neighborhood Association, described the area as a safe enclave housing a mix of young families and retired residents.
"We are shocked and saddened and rightfully fearful when something like this happens," he said. "We don't have homicides in this neighborhood, let alone a quadruple homicide."
