A gunman opened fire at a beauty salon in Milwaukee, US where his spouse worked yesterday killing three people and wounding four others before taking his own life.
The incident occurred two weeks after the man was accused of slashing his wife's car tyres.
The suspect was identified as 45-year-old Radcliffe Haughton, a resident of Brown Deer, Wisconsin.
He had been placed under a restraining order and directed to surrender his firearms to local authorities this month in connection with a domestic abuse case involving his wife.
"We believe this incident was domestic violence-related," Brookfield police chief Daniel Tushaus said at a news conference.
All three of those shot to death at the Azana Salon and Spa were female, Mr Tushaus said.
Their ages and identities were not immediately provided, and the police chief would not say whether Mr Haughton's wife, who was a spa employee, was among the victims.
Mr Haughton was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at the crime scene, police said.
The Wisconsin shooting followed an incident on October 4th in which Mr Haughton slashed the tyres on his wife's car, leading to his arrest on suspicion of vandalism, Mr Tushaus said.
Four days later, his wife was granted a temporary restraining order against Mr Haughton related to domestic abuse. On October 18th a court injunction was issued barring Mr Haughton from possessing firearms, and he was ordered to hand over any weapons he had to the county sheriff.
The shooting marked the second incident of gun violence at a US beauty spa in a matter of days.
On Thursday, a gunman opened fire at a salon in suburban Orlando, Florida, killing three women and wounding a fourth, his wife, before fleeing and taking his own life at a nearby residence. The suspect in that shooting had likewise been ordered to keep away from his spouse.
Yesterday's shooting happened at about 11am local time (5pm Irish time), according to police.
Four female gunshot victims ranging in age from 22 to 40 were rushed to Milwaukee's Froedtert hospital. Their conditions were not immediately known, although the hospital said two of the victims had surgery.
The suspect's father, also named Radcliffe Haughton, spoke to a Milwaukee television station before the suspect was found dead. and expressed his family's apologises for whatever "misdeeds" his son had committed.
"This is not the way we live. This is not the way I raise my son up, " Mr Haughton said.
In a statement, US pesident Barack Obama said his "thoughts and prayers" were with the victims.
Reuters