2 Arrested After Shooting That Left 6 Dead, Including Infant

UPDATE Feb 4, 2023 7:00 AM CST

Police have two suspects in custody after a "cartel-style massacre" in California that left six dead, including a teen mother and her infant son, reports CNN. Angel Uriarte, 35, and Noah Beard, 25, both known members of the Norteno gang, are now each facing six charges of murder, as well as charges for other crimes, after the Jan. 16 killings in Goshen, in which each of the victims was shot in the head, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said Friday. He added that the shooting was likely the result of a conflict with a rival gang, though "the motive is not exactly clear at this point." Authorities say Uriarte was captured after a shootout with ATF agents and is now hospitalized in stable condition; Beard was apprehended without incident. "I'm happy we were able to put these two men behind bars," Boudreaux said, per CBS News. The suspects could face the death penalty if convicted.

Jan 17, 2023 1:53 AM CST

Police believe a drug cartel is behind the fatal shootings of six people at a California home Monday. The "manner and swiftness" of the attack in Goshen, a quiet, mostly Latino farming community near Visalia in Tulare County, suggests experienced killers, the local sheriff says. "This was very personal, and we also believe that it was a message being sent." A 6-month-old baby was found dead, cradled in her 17-year-old mother's arms, in a ditch outside the home; it's believed the teen was trying to flee with her infant when they were both shot in the head, the Los Angeles Times reports. Other victims, which included three males and an elderly woman, were also shot in the head, and one of the men suffered so much damage to his face that DNA will need to be used to identify him. The elderly woman is believed to have been shot in the head as she slept in her bed.

"If [they] are specifically shooting everyone in the head, they know what they are doing ... [and] they are comfortable with what they are doing," the sheriff says. Police believe the killings are linked to a search warrant that was carried out at the residence last week by a gang and narcotics unit of the sheriff's department, during which one person was arrested and guns, weed, and meth were seized. It's not clear whether the person who'd been arrested was among the victims. Police believe some of the victims saw the two suspects, who haven't yet been caught, entering the property on surveillance video and tried to run. Two women were able to hide in a trailer on the property and survive the attack, the New York Times reports. Some of the victims are believed to be members of the same family, but no names have yet been released. (More California stories.)