It happened around 4:40 Monday morning in a neighborhood near Clyde Avenue and Road 130 in Orosi.
Melissa Gutierrez lives down the street from a beige home where detectives believe 63-year-old Anthony Alvarez shot his two daughters.
The Tulare Sheriff's Department said 37-year-old Jennifer Kimble died from
multiple gunshot wounds and her sister, 33-year-old Valerie Alvarez was shot at least once. She was air-lifted to a hospital in Fresno and is in critical condition.
Gutierrez went to high school with the sisters and said they seemed like a nice family.
"They were good people, they were good children, they got brought up real good, they weren't bad people," said Gutierrez, neighbor and friend of the family.
The sheriff's department said after shooting his daughters, Alvarez turned the gun on himself. He was dead when deputies arrived.
They said Kimble's three children (ages 8, 11 and 13) were inside of the home at the time. After hearing the gunshots, her 8-year-old daughter is the one who grabbed the phone and called 911.
"Our heart goes out to her, she had to take...take a brave step to do that in regards to what was happening in her home at the time," said Sergeant Chris Douglass with the Tulare County Sheriff's Department.
The three children were not injured. They are now with their father who was at work at the time of the incident. The sheriff's department said both of the sisters, the three children and their father were all living at the home.
Detectives are now speaking with the children to piece together how the altercation started.
"It's going to be complicated for our detectives because we can't ask Jennifer what happened and we can't ask Anthony what happened," said Sergeant Douglass.
Gutierrez said the father was a Vietnam Veteran and he even received a Purple Heart for his service. It comes as a shock to the neighborhood, especially on Memorial Day.
"My best wishes go out to them especially on this day knowing the dad was a veteran. So, I don't know...just take it day by day," said Gutierrez.