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Double murder-suicide stuns community; 12-year-old victim fights for life

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A 12-year-old girl is still fighting for her life after her father fatally shot her mother and grandmother before turning the gun on himself, her family told Channel 9.

Police said 37-year-old Antioco Chacon shot and killed his mother, Asunscion Chacon-Perez, and his wife, Marina Bravo Aguilar, and critically wounded his 12-year-old daughter before fatally shooting himself Saturday morning.

Sacramento Andrade Bravo's niece, Bravo Aguilar, was one of the victims in the double murder-suicide at the Woodland Park Apartments on Kilborne Drive.

The girl, identified by her great-uncle as Tiffany Andrade, is still in critical condition at Carolinas Medical Center, police said.

The family told Channel 9 the girl had surgery Sunday morning, and that she is awake but unable to speak. She was still in critical condition on Tuesday.

"She's a little bit better, but she's still not out of critical condition," Sacramento Andrade Bravo said. "We're thanking God she's still alive. We're putting our hope in God that she will recover."

Andrade Bravo said there are two more children in the family, ages 13 and 8, and both of them were inside the apartment at the time of the shooting.

He said they are staying with relatives.

Andrade Bravo told Channel 9 he doesn't know what could have led Chacon to kill his family, but noted his aggressive behavior while under the influence.

"When he drank, he became aggressive,” he said. “It was the same when he was on drugs."

Antwan Cunningham, who lives across from the family and worked with Chacon on a couple of projects, said he was shocked by Chacon’s action.

"He was a good guy. He was very quiet, nice,” Cunningham said. "I never knew he would do anything like that, to hurt the kids, his mother, his wife."

"Heartbroken, disturbed by it,” said Anthony Scott, a maintenance supervisor for the Woodland Park community. "I know I have to go in the unit and work, possibly, but we're gonna hold off for a couple months, just so the community can gather their thoughts."

Neighbors told Channel 9 that while they didn’t know the family, they can feel their pain.

“I mean, think about it, it's a child and it's a mother and it's a grandmother involved,” resident Misty Joyner said.

“It is crazy. Why would he do that?  I don't know,” resident Kia Thomas said.

Police responded around 8:40 a.m. Saturday to a call of an assault with a deadly weapon and found four people with gunshot wounds in one of the apartments, officials said.

"It's never been, ever been close to this many policemen in here,” neighbor Robert West said.

Three of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

"It looked like a terrible scene,” neighbor Stan Walker said.

The shooting appeared to have been related to a domestic issue, police said.

"I wouldn't have known it by the people I usually see around this complex that something like this would happen,” West said.

Andrade Bravo said he was in shock and that all of the family members affected by the incident are good people.

"Good father, good mother, good brother, good sister. They never had a problem. I don't know what's up," Andrade said.

Detectives said they canvassed the area to determine if there were any witnesses to the shooting.

"Bad situation, especially during this time of year, during the holidays,” Walker said. “I send my blessings and prayers out to the family."

The deaths marked Charlotte's 83rd and 84th homicides of 2017.

"I'm a little upset, to be honest with you,” neighbor Tyree Uzzel said. "I'm pretty sure they had love. Love is supposed to conquer everything, so I don't understand what would drive them."

Channel 9 learned Tuesday that Chacon had nothing more than traffic offenses in his past, according to courthouse records.

Maria Zuluaga, a counselor with a county program that works with more than 200 Latina victims of domestic violence a year, said fear is what keeps many of them from speaking up or getting out.

“It definitely impacts us on the human level,” Zuluaga said. “We're all human and we care about the people that we serve.”

Channel 9 was told that the family is planning to have funerals for the mother and grandmother on Wednesday, and then have their bodies returned to Mexico.

People can learn more about Mecklenburg County's services for victims of domestic violence on the county's website.

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