SAN DIEGO (CNS) - For a second day, authorities refused Tuesday to release further information about the deaths of four people, including two Miramar-based military pilots, in an apparent murder-suicide in Coronado early on New Year's morning.
Patrol officers responding to a 911 call about gunfire in a neighborhood near the Hotel Del Coronado found the body of a man lying in the front doorway of a condominium in the 1000 block of Park Place shortly before 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
Using a camera-equipped robot, a SWAT team discovered the bodies of two other men and a woman inside the multi-story residence, sheriff's homicide Lt. Larry Nesbit said.
Officials have disclosed no suspected motive or scenario for the slayings, though Nesbit said investigators were not looking for any "outstanding suspects."
Authorities have declined to provide further details, including the names of the deceased. The county Medical Examiner's Office reported that the case had been sealed at the request of sheriff's detectives.
Relatives, however, identified three of the victims to news crews as Navy pilots John Reeves and David Reis, both 25, and the latter's 24-year-old sister, Karen Reis, an assistant volleyball coach at a local high school.
The name of the other dead man, a 31-year-old Chula Vista resident, has not been made public.
A spokesman for Marine Corps Air Station Miramar confirmed that two of the dead were stationed at the base, but he declined to name them.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Caldwell said this afternoon that no additional information in the investigation would be released today. Department officials "anticipate probably" providing an update about the case on Wednesday, she said.
Coronado police, sheriff's homicide detectives and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are involved in various aspects of the investigation.
THIS IS A STORY UPDATE. For an earlier version, read below.
CORONADO (CNS) - Authorities confirmed Monday that two of four people killed in a Coronado condominium about two hours into the New Year were Navy pilots stationed at Miramar.
The names of those killed were being withheld Monday for unknown reasons. A spokesman for the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office said the records had been "sealed" at the request of sheriff's deputies, but said two of the dead were 25, one an "active-duty Navy," and the other a Navy officer. The office later removed that information from its website.
The two others found dead New Year's Day about 2 a.m. were a 31-year-old Chula Vista man and a 24-year-old San Diego woman, according to the Medical Examiner's Office. One body was found in the doorway of the condo, the other three inside, according to sheriff's deputies and published reports.
Law enforcement authorities have not said what could have motivated the bloodshed.
The Medical Examiner's Office listed the time of death for all four as 2:20 a.m. Sunday, about the time deputies got a 911 call from a mobile caller, reporting shots fired.
Responding officers found a fatally wounded person in or near the doorway and the other three bodies inside, according to law enforcement authorities and broadcast reports.
Deputies sent in a SWAT team robot to search the condominium at first, unsure what had happened or if the shooter could still be in the condominium.
Although law enforcement would not say plainly that one of the four shot the other three and committed suicide, detectives did say no shooter was being sought.
Coronado police, sheriff's homicide detectives and agents with Naval Criminal Investigative Services are all involved in various aspects of the investigation.
THIS IS AN UPDATE TO THE PREVIOUS STORY BELOW.
CORONADO (CNS) - Four people were found dead today at a Coronado condominium, where gunfire broke out just over two hours into the New Year, officials said.
And although officers would not specify that a suicide was among the aftermath, a spokesman said officials do not believe a shooter is on the loose.
A person near the condo, off Orange Avenue in the heart of the island city, called 911 from a mobile phone about 2:20 a.m. to report shots had been fired at a three-condo structure at 1020 Park Place. Coronado police officers responded within four minutes, according to San Diego County sheriff's Lt. Larry Nesbit.
Officers arrived to find an adult male victim, with an apparent gunshot wound, lying in the doorway of the residence, he said.
"Officers confirmed he had no signs of life," Nesbit said. Officers attempted to make contact with anyone inside the condo, but were unsuccessful, Nesbit said.
The small Coronado police department called in a sheriff's SWAT team, which used a robot to enter the building in case an active shooter remained inside. The robot searched the first floor and SWAT team members then entered and searched the second and third floors of the residence, Nesbit said.
The bodies of two men and a woman were found inside, Nesbit said. But he would not disclose the exact location inside the structure where the additional victims were found, or if a weapon had been found.
It was not known if there was a single weapon or if gunfire was exchanged, but sheriff's homicide detectives said there was no person being sought in connection with the deaths.
"Although we are early into the investigation, we do not believe we have any outstanding suspects," Nesbit said.
The Coronado Police Department, Naval Criminal Investigative Services, the sheriff's Homicide Detail and sheriff's Crime Lab were participating in the investigation.
The victims' identities were not immediately released and were to be determined by the county Medical Examiner's Office.
Officials cordoned off the mixed commercial and residential area near Isabella and Orange avenues in downtown Coronado during the investigation.
Officials asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the Homicide Detail at (858) 565-2500, or after hours at (858) 974-2321, or to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.