A man apparently distraught over financial problems shot his wife and two young children to death at a popular park before turning the gun on himself, police said.
An officer responding Monday night to a report of fireworks going off found the bodies at a remote area of Tilden Regional Park, in the East Bay area between Berkeley and Orinda.
A note found at the scene, apparently written by Kevin Morrissey, 51, indicated he was distressed about money difficulties at the skin care practice he ran with his wife, East Bay Regional Park Police Chief Timothy Anderson said.
"It's looking like a murder-suicide. ... In the note he expressed remorse and explained his actions," Anderson told KTVU-TV.
Police identified the other victims as Morrissey's wife, Dr. Mamiko Kawai, 40, and the couple's daughters, Nikki Morrissey, 8, and Kim Morrissey, 6. The girls were found in the rear seat of a car and the adults on the ground nearby. All had been shot to death, and a .357 Magnum revolver was found at the scene, Anderson said.
Detectives searched the family's Berkeley home to ensure there were no other victims, he said.
Tilden Regional Park covers more than 2,000 acres of canyons and eucalyptus groves in the otherwise densely populated East Bay.