Man Contacted ABC7 Before Killing Family and Himself, Cited Work Problems

ABC7 this morning received a telephone call and a fax from the a man saying he was going to kill his family and himself. The news station in turn called police who later found seven people--five children under the age of ten, the mother and the suspected shooter, the father.

"This was a financial- and job-related issue that led to the slayings," Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner said to the media. "In these tough economic times, there are other options. In my 32 years, I've never seen anything like this."

ABC7 later disclosed the contents of the fax, which if true, could leave Kaiser Permanente partially liable:

According to Channel 7, the faxed letter detailed workplace problems both the man and his wife were having at a Kaiser Permanente hospital in West Los Angeles. The letter said that an unnamed administrator told him one day that he shouldn't have come to work and said "you should have blown your brains out." The man said in the letter that he complained to his union to no avail. Then both he and wife were fired, Channel 7 reporter Gene Gleeson said in summarizing the letter.

A family of six, including three children, were killed in a murder-suicide last October in Porter Ranch. The father, in his finals notes, indicated monetary problems.