A South Jersey man fatally shot his ex-girlfriend, the mother of his child, and then died by suicide Monday in Vineland, authorities said.
The victim and suspect were not publicly identified by police, but NJ.com identified the shooter as Juan Correa Santiago, 22, and the victim as Mary Rodriguez, 21.
The two had an on-and-off relationship for about three years and shared a 2-year-old son, Rodriguez’s family told the outlet. They said the child was safe with family on Tuesday.
Rodriguez’s step-aunt, Jessica Mercado, told NJ.com that Rodriguez feared Santiago would become violent and hurt her or their son.
“She was fearful, and she did attempt to get away from the situation,” Mercado said. “She wanted to co-parent and keep him happy for her safety and her child’s safety.”
Police responded to a home in Vineland around 6 p.m. Monday following a report of shots fired, according to the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office.
“Initial investigation (which is subject to autopsy results) revealed that the female was shot by the male and then the male shot himself,” the prosecutor’s office wrote in a press release. “The parties were not married but previously were in a relationship.”
Santiago and Rodriguez were both transported to a nearby hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
“They were working things out, but it wasn’t working out, so they recently split up,” Rodriguez’s stepmother, Marianette Mercado, told NJ.com. “He took our Mary away from us.”
Vineland, about 100 miles south of Manhattan, was also the site of a similar murder-suicide in March 2022. In that case, a 50-year-old man fatally shot a 48-year-old woman, then turned the gun on himself, according to police. Cops described the killing as a domestic violence incident.
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