Rapper J $tash allegedly shot and killed a woman in front of her three children on New Year’s Day before turning the gun on himself, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Law enforcement authorities responded to reports of domestic violence around 7:14 a.m. on New Year’s Day in Temple City, California, according to a press release from the sheriff’s department.
When deputies arrived, they discovered two people, a 27-year-old female and a 28-year-old male, unresponsive inside the home.
According to the report, the woman had been shot multiple times and the male “sustained an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Both were pronounced dead at the home.
Three children, ages 5 to 11, “were removed from the home unharmed upon the deputies’ arrival. The three lived in the home and are believed to be the children of the deceased female victim,” the report said.
A handgun was recovered at the scene.
“Right now, the evidence at the scene and the preliminary information we have from the children in the home is that it’s a murder-suicide,” Lt. Derrick Alfred told KTLA.
The male was identified as the rapper J $tash, whose legal name is Justin Joseph.. The woman has been identified as Jeanette Gallegos.
Lt. Alfred told the Associated Press that the woman had been dating J $tash for about a year, but he was not related to any of the children.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.