A 60-year-old man fatally shot his sister on the front steps of a Pennsauken, New Jersey, home before killing himself inside the residence Wednesday morning, authorities confirmed.
Daniel Lopez, 60, opened fire on Janet Camacho outside the Bethel Avenue property around 9 a.m., according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office. Officers responding to reports of shots fired and an armed man discovered Camacho wounded on the stoop. She was transported to Cooper University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Police established a perimeter around the home and evacuated neighboring residents as the situation unfolded. A robotic dog was deployed to search the residence, where Lopez was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound approximately 90 minutes after the initial emergency call, officials said.
The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office has classified the incident as a murder-suicide. The motive remains under investigation.
Surveillance footage obtained by WPVI reportedly captured the shooting and showed a man pacing outside the home afterward. The outlet declined to air the video, citing its graphic nature.
Michelle Jimenez, who lived nearby, described Lopez as a close family friend whose behavior had never raised concerns. “We used to invite him a lot for family parties. He would always be our guest. He was really close to our family. He was always nice. He would bake stuff for me and my siblings,” Jimenez told WPVI.
“It was just shocking to me. I didn’t believe it,” she added.
The double death marks the second fatal shooting incident in Camden County this week to draw regional attention, following the killing of a 9-year-old boy in Newark that has prompted family members to seek answers from investigators.
Authorities have not released additional details about what preceded Wednesday morning’s violence on Bethel Avenue. The investigation into the circumstances surrounding Lopez’s attack on his sister continues.