Shooting, Apparent Suicide Shock La Crescenta Neighborhood

Fairmount Avenue in La Crescenta is quiet again after it was shaken Tuesday morning by the sounds of screaming and gunshots, when one resident, a man who grew up in this town and graduated from La Cañada High School, reportedly shot his estranged wife then turned the gun on himself.

It was shortly after 6 a.m. Oct. 5 when Janet Carr, in her late 40s, drove to her husband's home in the 2700 block of Fairmount Avenue in La Crescenta to drop off their two children, according to Sheriff's Deputy Scott Gage. She later told deputies that about a month before, she had moved out of the house she shared with Pat Carr, said Sheriff's Deputy Rich Peña.

"For whatever reason, [Pat] met her in the street and shot her twice," Peña said.

Neighbors reported hearing screaming and gunshots. "I was asleep and I woke up to a woman screaming," said Tylon Kahng, 18, who lives across the street from the Carr house. "I looked out and saw a white SUV. She grabbed two kids, put them in the car and sped away."

Another neighbor, Sylvia Cho, said of the Carr children, "They cried, 'Help me! Help me!'"

Wounded in the lower torso, Janet Carr drove to the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station on Briggs Avenue and reported the shooting. She was transported to a local hospital where she was expected to be released by Thursday afternoon. The children, ages 7 and 10, were not injured and were later picked up from the sheriff's station by relatives, Peña said.

By the time Janet Carr arrived at the station, sheriff's deputies were already responding to several 911 calls reporting shots fired. Officers arrived on the scene at 7:10 a.m. At that time officers were not certain whether the husband was still at the home or if he was still armed, said Lt. Marie Hannah.

They set up a command post about a block away at the Church of the Latter-day Saints on Rosemont Avenue, then closed off access to the 2700 block of Fairmount Avenue, the 2700 block of Sanborn Street and the northbound side of the 4500 block of La Crescenta Avenue. Eight to ten homes were evacuated, said Peña.

Deputies put extra patrols on the streets because many children were walking to school that morning as part of 'Walk to School Week.'