INS Agent Kills Girlfriend, Self in Lake Forest Home

A federal agent fatally shot his girlfriend, then turned the handgun on himself early Saturday after a heated quarrel at their Lake Forest apartment, authorities said.

The 34-year-old man, who worked for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, killed himself just as Orange County sheriff’s deputies arrived, according to a Sheriff’s Department spokesman. Deputies withheld the names pending notification of families.

The couple were heard arguing shortly before 3 a.m., said department spokesman Jim Amormino. Although the reason for the fight remains unclear, the arguing intensified. At one point, the girlfriend fled the home but returned soon afterward, and the quarreling continued.

About 3:15, the woman apparently called 911 and tried to leave for a second time when her companion grabbed a pistol. She left, and he followed her out of their upstairs apartment. As she reached the bottom of the stairwell, he opened fire.

Neighbors were jolted awake by five rapid gunshots.

“It was deafening,” said Margaret Gonter, who lives in a condominium about 100 yards from the couple. “I thought that someone had shot the metal dumpster right outside here.”

Nearly a dozen sheriff’s patrol cars quickly pulled up near the home and noticed the agent sitting in his vehicle, Amormino said. As deputies approached, he got out of the car and headed back to his apartment. Moments later, another shot rang out. Deputies found the agent’s body lying beside his girlfriend. An autopsy is scheduled for this morning.

Neighbors gathered outside the apartment Saturday afternoon as a cleaning team spent hours scrubbing bloodstains from the stairs and landing.

Residents said the agent had recently moved into the White Oak Condominiums complex on View Pointe Drive with his 27-year-old girlfriend. Few had ever met the couple. And some kept their distance after seeing the agent carry a shotgun through the complex.

Others expressed shock that the shooting could happen in a normally quiet neighborhood, where crime most often comes in the form of graffiti at the communal swimming pool.

“It’s usually very quiet,” said Harriet Vanne, a Realtor.