GRANDPA SHOOTS SELF AFTER 2 SLAIN.

Byline: Martin Kuz Staff Writer

SYLMAR - A grandfather apparently shot and killed his 8-year-old grandson and his 19-year-old daughter Thursday afternoon before turning the gun on himself, police said.

The suspected shooter, Claude Wright, 60, was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the head and listed in stable condition late Thursday night. He was under police guard, arrested on suspicion of murder.

The victims - Elizabeth Wright, 19, and her 8-year-old nephew, Kyle Wright - apparently lived with Claude Wright and his wife, identified by police as the boy's grandparents, in the 15000 block of La Mesa Street. Police, who found a handgun at the scene, were notified about the shootings when the grandmother called 911 about 1:20 p.m. Investigators said she was outside the home when the shots were fired.

Police were initially unclear on the motive. Investigators did not release the name of the older woman.

Neighbors of the victims were saddened by the violent turn of events. They clustered on street corners and sidewalks along the block of La Mesa where the shooting occurred, kept at bay by rows of yellow police tape.

``That's real sad he had to die,'' said Matthew Marquez, 10, who lives down the street from the house where the boy was shot.

``It's sad that he had to die at a very young age. He'll never be able to grow up to have a job, a wife or kids or anything.''

Matthew and other youngsters in the neighborhood said Kyle enjoyed riding his skateboard and scooter. They described him as friendly and athletic.

``It's sad,'' said Brenda Franco, 10, another of Kyle's playmates. ``He's a very good friend of mine. I miss him.''

Neighbors said Claude Wright was fond of sitting in his driveway and smoking cigars as he watched Kyle and his friends play. One woman said Wright and his wife regularly attended a nearby Catholic church.

``You could always smell that cigar smoke,'' said Mark Bolita, 27, who lives across the street from the couple with his fiancee, Nancy Argote. ``They seemed like nice people. We always waved when we saw them, and they would wave back.''

Argote, 26, and Bolita were not home at the time of the shootings. They tried to return to their house about 3:30 p.m. and were taken aback by the knot of police squad cars and TV news vans that choked the streets in this modest, middle-class enclave on the northern edge of the San Fernando Valley.

``Something like this, it's a shock,'' said Argote. ``Everyone's like family around here. You don't think of anything like this happening around here.''

Yet the shootings marked the second grisly incident to stun the neighborhood this year.

Several weeks ago, a garbage bag containing human body parts was discovered a few blocks from the site of Thursday's bloodshed.

``This is supposed to be a pretty safe neighborhood,'' said Salvador Montez, 28, who lives about a block away from the couple's home. ``When stuff like this happens, it makes you kind of scared.''

Christopher Lara, 23, who lives near the older couple, was home at the time of the shooting but heard nothing.

``It's a little disturbing,'' he said. ``I've lived in Sylmar for 23 years and never expected something like this to happen two doors down from where I live.''

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Photo:

(color) Claude Wright, who shot himself in the head, is wheeled to an ambulance. Police say he killed two young people.

Chris Jensen/Special to the Daily News