Deputies responded at 12:33 a.m. on Monday 7 September 2020 to an assault-with-a-deadly-weapon report at a home in the 45000 block of Highway 371 in the unincorporated area of Aguanga.[1] They found six people dead of gunshot wounds at the scene, and a wounded woman who died later in hospital despite life-saving efforts, bringing the toll to seven.[1]
Evidence at the scene showed the property was being used as an illicit marijuana operation, with more than 1,000 pounds (about 454 kg) of marijuana and several hundred plants.[1][2] Sheriff Chad Bianco called it a very large illegal grow with makeshift buildings, a nursery for growing plants, and areas for drying and processing them, holding processed marijuana he valued between $1 million and more than $5 million.[2]
The seven victims were apparently Laotian nationals among more than 20 people living at the property, and the suspects had fled before patrol deputies reached the remote site.[2] The exact motive was unclear and no suspects had been identified; the sheriff asked the FBI and other federal agencies to help because vehicles at the property were registered outside California.[2] The department said the killings appeared to be an isolated incident with no threat to the general public.[1][2]
