No warning sign before shootings, says Tucson family

Five members of the Carrillo family, including Karen Saari’s sister, son, niece and nephew, spoke about the tragedy that struck their family at a news conference held by Homicide Survivors. They struggled to understand what could have caused Christopher Carrillo to do this to his family.

On Tuesday, police said Christopher, 25, fatally shot four members of his family before killing himself inside the home where the family had lived for decades. His four victims were identified as his parents, Raúl Carrillo, 58, and Karen Saari, 53; his brother Erick Carrillo, 32; and his niece Isela Rodriguez, 17.

Leilani Carrillo, Christopher’s sister and Isela’s mother, was not at the news conference but said earlier in the week that Christopher had mental health issues that apprently overcame him.

Kim Ortega, Saari’s sister, was shocked by the incident.

“Christopher was a loving son. He loved his mother, his brothers and his niece,” she said. “His illness took over his mind.”

Ortega talked about her sister, saying she was the rock of the family.

“She wanted a loving home, always working together with Rudy to build a home for her kids and grandkids.”

“Rudy” was Raúl Carrillo’s nickname. He and Saari had been together for 35 years, Ortega said.

“My sister had a lot on her plate and I wish she’d come to me so I could help her more. I didn’t know it was to this extreme.”

Daniel Carrillo, Christopher’s brother, said the family spent Friday and Saturday together celebrating his daughter’s third birthday.

“We took video. I wish we’d gotten more video,” he said. “Chris is standing next to my daughter and playing with her, tickling her while we were singing happy birthday.”

Daniel said he believes his brother recently started being evaluated for his mental illness, but he wasn’t sure if a diagnosis had been made or how far along in the process he was.

“We didn’t really know he had access to his own weapons and his own firearms before,” Daniel said. “We didn’t think he was aggressive like this. There were no signs.”

The relatives were surprised to learn that Christopher had access to guns, with Daniel saying he’d thought his brother would have said something about it.

“My brother just went through a rough time. I love my brother.”

He also spoke of his love for his mother, and how she helped him out no matter what, going above and beyond for the whole family.

No motive for the mass shootings has been made public.

Christopher wasn’t an aggressive person, Daniel said.

“I feel like it was his mental illness and we didn’t understand it. I wish we’d understood it more.”

Christopher’s Facebook page showed photos of him carrying guns, including what appeared to be military-style rifle. Family members on Friday said they did not want to talk about the photos.

Adam Ortega, Raúl and Karen’s nephew, said it was difficult to understand what must have been going through his cousin’s mind.

“As a person he would never do that to his family,” he said. “It was just something that nobody will understand what was going on in his head; what was the reason that brought him to this.”

Another cousin, Audrey Ortega, described Christopher as happy.

“He was a great guy, but we all have our poison I guess,” she said. “We just deal with it differently, but his got the best of him.”

Kim and Audrey both talked about how they were grateful for the community support.

“I want the community to know that we’re strong, but keep us in your prayers,” Audrey said. “It’s a hard thing to go through, but we’re going to be OK.”

Relatives showed photos of the family, including a large collage of photos that Christopher had put together and had hanging in his room.

“They were just a family like everyone else trying to survive and thrive together with the family and health issues they were presented with,” said Carol Gaxiola, director of Homicide Survivors.

“It was a difficult struggle, and in the end Chris lost the battle.”