San Francisco Police Chief Derrick Lew said Monday that his department is grieving and working to process the apparent double murder-suicide of two retired officers and their daughter over the weekend at their Marin County home.
Authorities believe retired Officer Kevin Mannix, 68, shot himself after fatally shooting his wife, former Deputy Chief Ann Mannix, 65, and daughter Katherine Elizabeth Mannix, 24, on Sunday.
“It is with profound grief and unimaginable sadness that we learned yesterday of the deaths of retired members Ann Mannix and Kevin Mannix as well as their 24-year-old daughter,” Lew said in a statement Monday. “The Marin County Sheriff’s Office has described this incident as a murder suicide, which makes the situation all the more difficult to process.”
At about 5 p.m. Sunday, Marin County sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of gunshots at a home on Strawberry Circle in unincorporated Marin County. When deputies arrived, they made contact with the person who called in the shooting, then that person left and deputies secured the area.
Inside the home, deputies found the bodies of the two former officers and their daughter.
“The preliminary investigation indicates a suspected double-murder suicide involving three individuals. The suspected shooter is male,” the Sheriff’s Office said Monday.
Autopsies are scheduled for Tuesday, but the investigation is still in the early stages, and no other information was yet available, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Former Deputy Chief Ann Mannix worked for the San Francisco Police Department for more than 30 years, at the Taraval, Northern, Park and Southern stations, as well as the Special Operations Bureau and Field Operations Bureau. She was the first woman to lead the department’s tactical company, Chief Lew said.
“My heart goes out to all their family members, friends and colleagues at the SFPD as we all work to process this tragedy,” Lew said.
Mayor Daniel Lurie said Monday he was deeply saddened to learn of the deaths of Ann Mannix and her daughter.
“Deputy Chief Mannix dedicated decades of her life to serving San Francisco,” Lurie said in a statement. “She was a trailblazer in the police department, becoming the first woman to join and lead the SWAT team and rising to lead both the Field Operations and Special Operations Bureaus.”
The San Francisco police officers’ union issued a statement Monday saying that the news had left the department reeling.
“It is with profound sadness, shock, and heavy hearts that we address the devastating news that emerged out of Marin County on Sunday evening,” according to a statement from San Francisco Police Officers Association President Louis Wong. “The tragic loss of retired Deputy Chief Ann Mannix, her daughter Katie, and retired Sergeant Kevin Mannix in a suspected murder-suicide has left our entire SFPD family reeling.”
This story has been updated with additional details from the Marin County Sheriff’s Office and statements from San Francisco’s police chief and mayor.