Alameda neighbors mourn loss of family shot to death; husband's colleague speaks out

A small group of neighbors gathered at the beach in Alameda on Thursday evening to mourn the loss of nearly an entire family: Police say a husband killed his wife, 6-year-old son and in-laws.

ALAMEDA, Calif. - A small group of neighbors gathered at the beach in Alameda on Thursday evening to mourn the loss of nearly an entire family: Police say a husband killed his wife, 6-year-old son and mother-and-father-in-law.

The only survivor of the mass shooting, reported Wednesday at about 9 p.m., was the family's 1-year-old son, who was injured and taken to the hospital in critical condition.

The shooting occurred in the family's Kitty Hawk Road home and no motive has been given.

The husband, Shane Killian, 54, was taken into custody with no bail.

Killian is expected to be arraigned Friday afternoon.

Hours beforehand, his colleague, fellow welder Che Rocchild, told KTVU that Killian was one of the better welders he's ever met and was very "good at his craft."

Rocchild described Killian as "normal."

"Most of the time he was pretty cool, pretty level," Rocchild said.

In fact, Killian had asked Rocchild for help in getting some certifications the day or two before the mass shooting.

"I would assume something pressured him or triggered him," Rocchild said.

Neighbors meditate at the Alameda beach after police say a husband killed nearly his entire family. July 11, 2024

Neighbors also couldn't fathom what triggered such a family tragedy.

They created a makeshift memorial outside the family's home and meditated at the beach. The people who gathered didn't even know the family, but they felt they needed to mark the tragedy.

"For something like this to happen, it's very tragic," Maria Cervantes said. "I can't believe it.

Michael Devie said it was his idea to meditate at sunset.

"I was trying to figure out what I was going to do to calm myself and cope," he said. "And I thought maybe that's something other people would want to do."