Police responded to reports of two people dead inside a San Carlos apartment early Saturday morning.
Police said they went to the Lomas del Cerro apartment complex on the 7200 block of Navajo Rd. at around 1:35 a.m. to investigate.
Officers were able to make contact with a 55-year-old woman inside apartment #237 and, after some reluctance on her part, convinced her to come outside.
When police checked inside the residence, they found two people dead from apparent gunshot wounds. One victim was 56-year-old Reuben Johnson and the other was 14-year-old Aaliyah Johnson.
According to authorities, the woman detained by police at the apartment is the wife of the male victim and the mother of the teenager.
Investigators said the woman – named Regina Johnson -- had called a relative in another state before officers arrived at the home and told the relative that her husband and daughter were dead.
The relative contacted their local law enforcement agency in Washington state, who then immediately contacted San Diego Police with the information.
Police have obtained a search warrant to check the apartment for evidence. Johnson was taken into custody and processed at police headquarters.
Police said there were no calls from neighbors reporting gunshots at the complex Saturday morning. The suspect and victims had lived in their apartment for the last year.
The shooting may have occurred as early as Wednesday morning and Johnson may have been inside the apartment with the bodies for three days, according to authorities.
On Saturday afternoon, neighbors in the complex were in disbelief over the deaths.
“This place is quiet all the time. So I’m thinking this happened during the day because no one’s here during the day,” one neighbor told NBC 7 San Diego.
“I'm freaking out about them. I didn't know them that well but I saw them all the time. You know, you just see them all the time and I'm just in shock,” said neighbor Ann Case.
Case also recalls seeing the victims together around the complex.
“They used to talk to each other and I just recently thought to myself, I remember interestingly enough, that `They have a good relationship.’ They were always coming and going and he was just a really involved dad,” added Case.
Neighbors also described the husband as a very nice man who loved his car and motorcycle. The teenage girl was simply described as “beautiful.”
Authorities said the motive for the double-homicide is unknown at this point.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
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