Man kills girlfriend, self in Renton apartment

Police are investigating a murder-suicide this morning in Renton after a man with a gun broke into the apartment where his estranged girlfriend was staying and killed her and himself.

According to police, a call came in around 1 a.m. at the apartment complex at 1150 Union Ave. N.E. from neighbors reporting "some sort of commotion," said Penny Bartley, police department spokeswoman.

The 25-year-old victim was staying with a female friend at the complex who had offered to put up her and her three children, Bartley said.

The victim and the gunman had lived in a neighboring unit, she said. There was a protection order between the parties, indicating domestic violence, she added.

After the gunman forced his way into the unit, the female friend, another man and the children barricaded themselves in a bedroom and called 911, Bartley said.

Within moments of their arrival, police found the 26-year-old gunman and the victim dead.

The victim and the gunman's three children — a 5-year-old boy, 4-year-old girl and an 11-month-old girl — were not injured and were taken by Child Protective Services. The female friend and the other man also were unharmed, Bartley said.

There was a fourth child in the room who was also unharmed, Bartley said. It's unclear at this point whom the child belonged to, she added.

The victim, whose identity was not made public by official agencies, worked a few blocks away at the Casa Durango Restaurant, where she'd started a job about three months ago.

"She was a very hard worker," said restaurant owner Antonio Hernandez, who recalled that the victim had been having problems with her boyfriend.

Hernandez said the woman usually worked the night shift, starting at 5 p.m. She had worked Monday night and left about 10:10 p.m. to go home.

Residents at the 284-unit apartment complex said they heard gunshots coming from the apartment.

"We just heard like three gunshots," said Raymond Sanchez.

"We heard like someone kicked in the door," said Sanchez. "We didn't know what was going on."

Sanchez said he had seen the man and woman get in argument one day in the parking lot a few weeks ago but didn't know any details.