Father shoots son in apparent murder-suicide at Hanford home
HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- Hanford Police say they don't know why 43-year-old Victor Gomes would murder his 10-year-old son Wyland, and then kill himself.
The first 911 call for a possible shooting came in at 7:21 a.m.
"The mother of Mr. Gomes does not speak English," says Hanford Police Capt. Karl Anderson. "The mother called a relative to notify of them of what she had found and then the family member she called, called us."
The first responding officers arrived within four minutes. Inside, they found Victor dead of a gunshot wound.
Wyland had also been shot but was still alive. Officers started first aid, and an ambulance rushed him to the hospital.
"All the cops come by, and the ambulance, and then the fire chief came by," says Bill Grego. "We live right here on 11th Avenue, and they all turned this way and then they all turned off their sirens soon, so we knew that something was close."
Tragically, police say Wyland died at the hospital. He was a student at Kings River-Hardwick Elementary School.
Monday night, the 10-year-olds elementary school released a statement, reading in part:
"The Kings River-Hardwick family is devastated by the tragic loss of our beloved Wildcat, Wyland Gomes. Wyland was a bright light on campus, a wonderful friend to all, always happy, respectful, and kindhearted. There are no words to express the heartbreak our school family is experiencing."
Court records reveal a woman filed to divorce Gomes in 2016. Later that same year, someone reported he was suicidal and had a gun.
Police say Gomes refuted the report, claiming he wasn't suicidal, but he still had to surrender his gun to police.
Police added that Gomes was eventually allowed supervised visits with his son.
And in 2018, police responded to a child custody exchange between Gomes, his son and the boy's mother.
"Obviously, she's dealing with the loss of her child," Anderson said. "I can't even begin to speak on the devastation."
Hanford Police say Gomes used a handgun he bought legally in 2017 to kill his son and himself. They add that the first responding officers will be put on paid administrative leave and receive a wellness check from a psychologist.
Neighbors in the area who didn't want to go on camera say they rarely saw Gomes or his son and they always kept to themselves. Others say they never saw the two.
The Kings River Hardwick School District says they will have counselors on site Tuesday to help students and staff through this tough time.
