Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
- A man shot and killed six people at a Colorado birthday party before shooting himself on Sunday.
- Police on Tuesday said he was upset he didn't get an invitation to the party.
- One of the victims was his ex-girlfriend and police say he was described as "controlling."
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The man who opened fire at a birthday party in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and killed six people was upset he wasn't invited to the party, police said.
Investigators identified the shooter as Teodoro Macias, 28, who was dating Sandra Ibarra, one of the six victims, for about a year and was angry over not being invited to the gathering.
"When he wasn't invited to a family gathering the suspect responded by opening fire and killing six victims before taking his own life," Colorado Springs Chief Vince Niski said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Lieutenant Joe Frabbiele said Macias was characterized as a controlling and jealous boyfriend,
"At the core of this horrendous act is domestic violence," Niski told reporters. "The suspect, who was in a relationship with one of the victims, displayed power and control issues in this relationship."
Frabbiele said Macias tried to isolate Ibarra from her family and tried to prevent her from attending family events.
There were no previous domestic abuse police reports files between the two, Frabbiele said.
The shooting occurred after midnight on Sunday at a mobile home where families related by marriage were celebrating a birthday.
Police arrived at the scene after being called about a shooting and found six people dead and one man seriously injured, who later died at a hospital.
None of the children at the party were injured, but police said there is evidence three kids aged 2, 5, 11, witnessed the shooting.
"Today we find ourselves mourning the loss of lives and praying solemnly for those who were injured and those who lost family members in a senseless act of violence on Sunday morning," Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said in a statement on Sunday. "We think too of the emergency personnel who responded to a horrific scene and we keep them in our prayers today."
Police identified the six victims as Sandra Ibarra, Jose Ibarra, Mayra Ibarra de Perez, Melvin Perez, Jose Gutierrez, and Joana Cruz.