Marine Allegedly Kills Ex-Wife, Daughter; Roommate Wounded : Crime: Divorce had become final just 17 days before shooting. Family of dead woman says there was a history of violence in the marriage.

SAN CLEMENTE —  A decorated Marine who served in the Persian Gulf War killed his ex-wife and 5-year-old daughter late Saturday night, and wounded another woman, after breaking into his former wife’s apartment 17 days after his divorce became final, police said.

Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Steven Gibson, 32, burst into the second-floor apartment and shot his ex-wife’s roommate, 32-year-old Wendy Johnson, once in the chest, police said. He then went into a bedroom, where he turned a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol on his daughter, Amber, and his former wife, Kristina (Tina) Gibson, killing them both, said San Clemente Police Lt. Steve Bernardi.

Johnson’s 8-year-old son slept through the shooting, hidden under covers, police said.

Gibson, stationed at Camp Pendleton, was arrested an hour later as he talked on a pay phone at a gas station. He remained in the mental health ward of the Orange County Jail on Sunday, held without bail.

The shooting erupted about 10:15 p.m. Saturday in a bluff-top neighborhood of duplexes occupied mainly by young families.

“I heard a loud pop, and then my neighbor screaming and all sorts of profanity. She came running down the stairs yelling, ‘Call 911!’ ” said Terri Careccia, who lives downstairs.

“I asked her what happened and she said Jeff shot her. I asked her if it was an accident and she said: ‘No, he was after Tina,’ ” Careccia said.

Johnson suffered wounds to her liver, diaphragm and lung. She was listed in serious but stable condition after surgery Sunday.

Gibson, who enlisted when he was 20, earned three good conduct medals and three stars for overseas service of 90 days or more, said Marine Capt. Ralph Mills. He spent four months in the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm, and garnered a Navy Achievement Medal with a “V” for valor, along with several other combat awards, Mills said.

Kristina Gibson’s relatives said the marriage was a rocky one from the start. They said arguments escalated into violence every few months. Kristina Gibson had reported the alleged abuse to the Marines and tried to get military restraining orders, according to her mother, Odile Pullin.

The violence, family members said, began in Bermuda, where the couple lived for nearly a year after they were married in 1986. Kristina Gibson left Gibson in 1987, but rejoined him when she found she was pregnant.

Kristina Gibson reported Gibson to military police, who reprimanded him and provided counseling, Pullin said.

Marine Capt. Ralph Mills said no punitive actions are pending against Gibson. Mills was unsure whether any restraining orders had been issued. The couple split up in July and their divorce became final May 12.