DLNews Crime:

Bloodbath in California: Six people were shot dead in a town of 3,000 on Monday night, including a 17-year-old woman and her baby. Police suspect gang crime behind the killings.

The gruesome attack occurred in Goshen, a small town in inland California, about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

According to the Tulare County Sheriff's Office, police were called to a home around 3:40 a.m. after several shots were fired. "We got a report that there was an armed assailant in the area because there were so many shots fired," Sheriff Mike Boudreaux told reporters.

When officers got to the scene, they were presented with a horrific picture. Two victims lay in the street and a third in the house's front entrance. Three other victims were found inside the house, including a seriously injured man who was taken to a hospital, where he died.

The young mother apparently was still trying to run away with her six-month-old baby, Boudreaux said. Her lifeless body was later found in a ditch, with the dead child clutched in her arms. According to investigators, both were executed with gunshots to the head - as was an elderly woman in the house who appeared to have been killed while asleep in her bed.

Sheriff Boudreaux said there was likely a gang crime connection. "We believe this is not a random act of violence. We believe this is a targeted attack on the family," he said. Just a week ago, authorities raided the home in a drug raid.

"Based on the current state of the investigation, we believe there are at least two suspects," the sheriff said. In addition, several people survived the "horrific massacre," he said.

Gun violence is a significant problem in the United States. According to the Gun Violence Archive website, more than 44,000 people were killed intentionally or unintentionally by firearms last year alone. More than half of those cases were suicides.