San Francisco man fatally shot by police after allegedly killing mom, dog
SAN FRANCISCO - A family tragedy unfolded at a San Francisco home early Thursday morning.
According to neighbors and police sources, a 37-year-old man allegedly killed his adopted mother at the residence, located in the 700 block of 31st Avenue in the Richmond District.
Officers were initially dispatched to the home at approximately 2:39 a.m. in response to a report of an ongoing aggravated assault. Upon arrival, they located an 84-year-old man standing in the doorway. The man told police that a 76-year-old woman inside the house had been assaulted.
Neighbors identified the 86-year-old man as Roland Child.
While the responding officer was speaking with the man, a 37-year-old man, identified as Marc Child by neighbors and police sources, approached them wielding a knife. The officer discharged their firearm, resulting in the man's death.
Marc Child was known to be the adopted son of the couple who resided in the home.
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When officers entered the home, they discovered the body of a 76-year-old woman, identified as Barbara Child, along with a deceased dog.
San Francisco police investigators would not confirm the exact relationship between the suspect and the elderly victims.
"We definitely know that there is a relationship there, and I cannot disclose at this time what exactly that relationship is," Officer Eve Laokwansathitaya said.
Effie Bountouvas, a neighbor who has lived next door to the Child family for three decades, received a call from Roland Child after the attack.
"He sounded like he was in left field," Bountouvas recalled. "All he said was, 'I lost my Barbara.'"
According to Bountouvas, the 37-year-old suspect was an attorney in San Francisco.
"The kid lost it. He had a knife. He stabbed his mother. He killed the small dog, and then the police came, and he wouldn't let go of the knife, so they shot him."
Bountouvas said that Marc Child had a strong attachment to one of the family's three dogs, although the dog found dead inside the home was not the one he was attached to. San Francisco Animal Care & Control took custody of the other two dogs.
Bountouvas described Roland and Barbara Child as a pleasant couple who were like family to her.
She could only speculate the reason why Marc Child would kill his mother and one of the family dogs.
"I don't know what happened to Marc, I really don't," Bountouvas said. "I can't realize it. Unless he was on some type of 'dope.' But it's possible."
Police confirmed they had multiple encounters with Marc Child over the years due to drug-related incidents and altercations with law enforcement. Authorities mentioned that there was once a stay-away order involving the parents.
San Francisco police said that both the incident and the officer-involved shooting are currently under investigation by the police department, district attorney's office, and the department of police accountability.