Hamilton Twp. Tragedy: Man Kills Girlfriend and Her 10-Year-Old Daughter in Murder-Suicide

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J.  A quiet Mercer County neighborhood is reeling after a man shot and killed his girlfriend and her 10-year-old daughter before turning the gun on himself in what authorities are calling a double murder-suicide.

According to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, police were called around 4 a.m. Thursday to a residence in the 200 block of Henry Street. Officers with the Hamilton Police Department found three individuals  a man, woman, and a young girl  dead inside the home, all with gunshot wounds.

Investigators believe the man shot the mother and daughter before fatally shooting himself.

Family members identified the victims as 42-year-old Claribel Torres and her daughter Evangelina Velasquez, affectionately known as “Beba”. Evangelina was a fourth-grade student who loved to swim and stay active.

“My only daughter. Strong like me,” said Bladimir Velasquez, Evangelina’s father. “She was always very clever.”

A friend of the family told FOX 29 that Claribel worked at a local bar and was well-loved in the Dominican community, describing the couple as seemingly happy.

While officials have not yet released the identity of the shooter, authorities confirmed that he was in a relationship with Torres. The motive remains unclear.

The tragedy has deeply affected the local community. By Thursday evening, neighbors and friends gathered outside the home, holding a candlelight vigil with balloons and prayers in remembrance of the victims.

“We don’t know what happened. No one saw this coming,” a mourner said during the vigil.

The Mercer County Homicide Task Force continues to investigate the circumstances leading up to the shootings.