SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The man accused of shooting and killing 35-year-old Christopher Saunders after Saunders allegedly grabbed his estranged wife while rushing into the apartment that the man and her shared, has been released under the "presumption of a justifiable homicide."
According to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office will make a final determination at a later date as to whether the deadly shooting was justified.
Investigators say that early Friday morning, Saunders arrived at the apartment complex in the 6600 block of Sunnyslope Drive. He allegedly left his car running in the parking lot while he banged on the front door where his estranged wife lives with a man and children.
When the people inside the apartment answered the door, deputies say Saunders rushed in and grabbed his estranged wife, commanding her to leave with him.
She refused, and the adults inside the apartment told Saunders to leave, officials said.
Saunders allegedly started fighting family members including a teenager. A man who was inside the apartment took out a gun and shot Saunders, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies responded to the scene just after 12:30 a.m. Friday and found Saunders suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, lying just outside the apartment. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
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