Donovan Halstead/ Facebook
A California man fatally shot his 8-year-old daughter before turning the gun on himself shortly after the girl’s mother filed a restraining order against him, according to a recent news release.
On July 12, officers responded to a home on Havenhurst Court in Modesto on a report of a suicidal person and saw an individual with a gun through a window, according to apress releasefrom the Modesto Police Department.
Officers said they tried to communicate with the man — later identified as 50-year-old Donovan Halstead — and he told them he was going to come out of the home unarmed. But, before that could happen, police heard gunshots from inside the home and went inside to find Halstead suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The girl was a student in the Sylvan Union School District,KCRA 3reports. Halstead was transported to a local hospital, where he died two days later, police said.
Donovan Halstead.Donovan Halstead/ Facebook
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
According toThe Modesto Bee, court records show the 8-year-old girl’s mother filed a restraining order against Halstead on July 10, and a judge approved it on July 12, about three hours before the violence occurred. The woman, who was not home at the time of shooting, also reportedly filed for divorce in April.
The mother also petitioned for a restraining order in 2016, the outlet reports, citing court documents. In that petition, the woman reportedly wrote, “[Halstead] has told me he attempted suicide in the past and I fear that he will harm us, and himself, given his erratic behavior.”
A spokesperson with the Modesto Police Department toldThe Modesto Beethe restraining orders are part of the investigation.
It’s unclear whether Halstead legally owned the gun used in the incident.
source: people.com
