'Jealous' California man kills himself and in-laws over visa dispute

A man allegedly shot his in-laws, two others and himself because his wife was able to get visas for her family in Vietnam to travel to the US.

A relative of Chi Dinh Ta said the 66-year-old called him and told him he planned to kill his in-laws, who had recently arrived in San Jose, California from Asia.

“He said he was going to kill them. He had said things like this before, but I had always talked him down, calmed him down.” To Van Khuat, Ta’s wife’s cousin, told the Mercury News in San Jose.

Ta had been seething with jealousy because he was not able to bring his own family from Vietnam, Khuat said.

Police found Ta dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound around 1.25am Monday after officers entered his home following shooting reports Sunday night.

Two other adult women were found shot to death inside the residence.

Two other victims, an adult man and woman, were taken to a hospital, where they died.

Ta’s wife and daughter fled to safety in a neighbour’s home during the rampage.

San Jose Police spokesman Sergeant Enrique Garcia said there was no recorded history of domestic violence at the home and that investigators were still trying to determine a motive.

Garcia said the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office would release the names of the victims, who are all believed to be related.

Khuat said Ta’s in-laws were “the nicest people.”

“They were always nice to him,” Khuat said. “It was something in his mind, he snapped. I just found out about this. It is a terrible thing to hear.”