SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Following the death of a Paradise Hills mother and her three kids by the man she had filed a restraining order against, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said there are other steps that can be taken to ensure safety.
In the days leading up to Saturday morning's shooting, Jose Valdivia, 31, repeatedly called and texted Sabrina Rosario, 29, who secured a restraining order against him just one day before she and four of her sons were shot at their home at 2152 Flintridge Drive.
Rosario was killed along with Enzi Valdivia, 3; Zuriel Valdivia, 5; and Zeth Valdivia, 11.
A fourth boy, 9-year-old Ezekiel Valdivia, underwent emergency surgery Saturday and remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Rosario stated in her petition for a restraining order that since she filed for divorce in June, Valdivia "has consistently harassed and threatened me over the phone and does not leave me alone after I have repeatedly asked him to."
She wrote that he often showed up to her home unannounced and waited outside the house in his car.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said while Rosario may haven thought the restraining order alone would protect her, domestic violence victims need to first have a safety plan in place and seek out professional organizations.
Professional organizations can help victims file a restraining order and find them a safe place to stay where the abuser will not know their location.
If the victim believes the person threatening them has weapons, domestic violence laws in California and many other states allow law enforcement to seize the weapons if ordered by a judge.
“The violence risk goes up when you have a restraining order unless you have a safety plan in place. If there is access to guns or weapons then we want to look at removing those weapons first,” said Stephan.
Stephan said locally, the San Diego Family Justice Center and the Center for Community Solutions are ready to help 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Victims can also call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-888-DVLINKS.
Organizers will the help victims get in contact with local resources who can help in an emergency.
There are also many local domestic violence shelters that help women in San Diego, like the YWCA of San Diego County’s Becky’s House.
The state of California defines domestic violence as:
"Domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence, includes a pattern of abusive behaviors used to gain or maintain power and control over one’s partner.
California law refers to domestic violence as abuse committed against an adult or minor who is a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or person with whom the suspect has had a child or is having or has had a dating or engagement relationship (PC 13700 (b)). "Abuse" means intentionally or recklessly causing or attempting to cause bodily injury, or placing another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent serious bodily injury to himself or herself, or another.
Victims of domestic violence can include women and men of any age, race, religion, socio-economic status, education, or sexual orientation.
Domestic violence has many forms including physical aggression, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, stalking, or financial abuse. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, frighten, terrorize, injure or wound someone."