Three members and one retired employee of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were found dead by suicide within a 24-hour period, police said.
Police discovered the first suicide victim on Monday around 10:30 a.m. in Valencia, officials said in a statement to CBS News. The second suicide was reported just a bit over two hours later, when detectives discovered another body in Lancaster. At 5:40 p.m., they were called to a home in Stevenson Ranch where they found yet another suicide.
At around 7:30 the next morning, homicide detectives arrived at a Pomona hospital, where a department employee was declared dead.
Investigators have yet to publicize further details as to the nature of the four deaths, or if they were at all connected.
The names of the deceased sheriff’s employees will not immediately be released.
“Out of respect for their grieving families we will not be disclosing the names of the employees at this time,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. “Homicide detectives and the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner will continue to investigate each incident independently.”
Sheriff Robert Luna made a statement expressing the department’s shock and sorrow:
Our LASD family has experienced a significant amount of loss and tragedies this year. We are stunned to learn of these deaths, and it has sent shockwaves of emotions throughout the department as we try and cope with the loss of not just one, but four beloved active and retired members of our department family.
During trying times like these it’s important for personnel regardless of rank or position to check on the well-being of other colleagues and friends. I have the deepest concern for our employee’s [sic] well-being, and we are urgently exploring avenues to reduce work stress factors to support our employees work and personal lives.
One of the deceased employees was a captain, two worked in the county’s jail system, and one was a retired deputy, NBC News reported.