A California man called 911 to confess he was “the shooter” and warn that he had rigged his home with booby traps, according to authorities. Deputies arrived to find four family members dead inside.
The incident occurred Tuesday morning in Rancho Cordova after a neighbor reported hearing gunshots and screaming around 8:30 a.m., according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO). Police said Danny Vallerga, 58, then called 911 himself, gave dispatchers his address and warned he had set booby traps inside the home.
Officers established a perimeter and evacuated nearby homes. During the standoff, deputies heard what they believed was another gunshot from inside. (RELATED: Sole Survivor Of 2024 Shooting That Killed Entire Family Dies One Week After Starting College)
The sheriff’s SWAT team deployed two armored BearCat vehicles and obtained a search warrant. A smaller armored vehicle called the Rook breached a fence and sliding glass door. A drone then flew into the home and located Vallerga unresponsive with a pistol in his right hand. SWAT members entered and discovered three additional victims. All four were pronounced dead at the scene.
QUADRUPLE HOMICIDE DEEMED A MURDER-SUICIDE
Just after 8:30 AM on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, @ranchocordovapd Officers responded to a report of possible gunshots in the 5400 block of Mill Water Circle. A neighbor reported hearing what sounded like gunshots and screaming. Less… pic.twitter.com/1L7qJ5OsNM
— Sacramento Sheriff (@sacsheriff) January 29, 2026
The sheriff’s office identified Vallerga as having prior military experience, KCRA reported.
The victims were a 49-year-old woman, a 13-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl. Authorities have not released their names but neighbors confirmed a family of four lived at the home. The children were homeschooled and the family operated a tutoring business, according to a follow-up KCRA report.
Investigators recovered 14 firearms registered to Vallerga inside the home. A second pistol was found underneath his body. Shell casings from two different calibers matched weapons at the scene. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team swept the property and found no booby traps. Deputies said there was no prior record of domestic violence at the address, CBS Sacramento reported.
Neighbor Allisha Crockett, who lived across the street for five years, told KCRA that Vallerga “seemed tense quite a bit.” She remembered the children as happy. Neighbors described the girl as creative and the boy as a Pokémon fan.
Detectives are working to determine a motive.